Packers GM addresses Jordan Love becoming highest-paid QB in NFL history with new contract
Tua Tagovailoa was the NFL’s highest-paid quarterback for around four hours. Then, The Green Bay Packers paid Jordan Love.
Love and the Packers agreed to a record-setting four-year, $220 million contract extension, signifying Green Bay’s opinion on the former first-round draft choice. According to Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst, Love’s first full season as a starter opened some eyes behind the scenes.
“How (Jordan Love) handled this past year, becoming the guy and handling that pressure, coming out the other side of it gave us a lot of confidence that this is the guy that’s going to lead us into the future,” Gutekunst said, via NFL insider Ian Rapoport.
During the 2023 season, Love threw for 4,159 yards with 32 touchdowns and 11 interceptions while leading the Packers to a 9-8 record.
Green Bay is making the quarterback one of the highest-paid players in the league with a record $75 million signing bonus, plus $155 million in new full guarantees. Love is due to be paid $25 million in the 10 days following the signing of his contract, another $25 million by Oct. 4 and another $25 million by Dec. 27. His 2024 base salary is $3.5 million, which is fully guaranteed.
Other bonuses include him having 2025 and 2026 workout bonuses priced out at $500,000 a piece, while he’ll make $600,000 in per game roster bonuses in 2025. His 2025 base salary increases to $11.9 million.
In 2026, his salary will inflate to $49.9 million, $10.4 of which are fully guaranteed while another $39.5 million becomes fully guaranteed on the fifth day of the 2025 NFL calendar year. His base salary will decreate to $41.9 million in 2027 and increase to $43.9 million in 2028, the final year of this contract. Many other incentives inhabit the Packers quarterback’s contract as well, which include Pro Bowl and playoff implications.
Overall, $100.8 million is fully guaranteed at signing, and binds Love to Green Bay for at least three seasons.
They drafted him with the No. 26 overall pick in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft. Though he sat for several seasons behind four-time NFL MVP Aaron Rodgers, he eventually moved into the starter role that the team hoped he would fill when they added him to the roster.
The Green Bay Packers will kick off the 2024-25 regular season on Sept. 6 on the road against the Philadelphia Eagles.