In his season-ending press conference back in February, a reporter asked Brian Gutekunst whether he saw Jordan Love as the Green Bay Packers’ quarterback of the future. “Jordan had a really good season, especially in the second half,” he said, “and we’re really excited to build around him.”
In May 2023, the Packers signed Jordan Love to a one-year extension that included $13.5 million in guaranteed money and another $9 million in incentives. He became eligible for a new extension on May 3, 2024. Once he became eligible, every Packers fan knew it was just a matter of time until the front office would make him one of the highest-paid quarterbacks in the NFL. Love finished the 2023 season second in passing touchdowns and seventh in passing yards. On July 26, Green Bay signed Love to a four-year, $220 million contract, which makes him the highest-paid quarterback in NFL history.
Trevor Lawrence and Tua Tagovailoa signed extensions with the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Miami Dolphins, respectively. Athletes First represents Tua and Love, which gave Green Bay fans hope that a deal could get done on Friday. Ultimately, it did.
Before signing his extension, ESPN Milwaukee’s Kyle Wallace went on record criticizing Love’s decision not to practice until a deal was done.
Jordan Love is being selfish, and it’s not just Jordan Love; it’s his agency as well, which is making Love put himself first.
The fact that Tua is deciding to participate in seven-on-seven and 11-on-11 drills just shows you the mentality. Love’s mentality is about getting paid, while Tua’s is about getting paid but also winning the Super Bowl. The Packers cannot win a Super Bowl if Jordan Love is not 100% locked in, and right now, this is exactly what we are seeing.
It was exaggerated to label Love as selfish. He was present throughout all activities of the offseason program, attending every meeting and even being on the practice field in training camp to support his teammates. Despite likely being advised to hold off on practicing until a deal is finalized, Love is still contributing to the Packers. While, ideally, he would be practicing, this situation is still better than a few years ago when Aaron Rodgers often missed parts of the offseason program. Ironically, Rodgers’ absence gave Love valuable reps with Christian Watson and Romeo Doubs during the offseason.
By not practicing in the early stages of camp, Love took a key step to protect his career and long-term future. It could affect his contract negotiations if he suffered a serious injury on the field. Love knew he was about to secure his first significant NFL contract, which would largely determine his and his family’s financial future. Furthermore, the role of any sports agency is to get the best deal possible for their client. Although the Packers and Love were both interested in him being in Green Bay for the foreseeable future, the business part of the equation needed to be solved first. The NFL is a business, and it’s show business.
We don’t need to look far back to see how injuries have made Green Bay’s front office hesitant about retaining players. David Bakhtiari tore his ACL just days after the Packers signed him to a four-year, $92 million deal in 2020. Although Bakhtiari was arguably the best left tackle in football when healthy, his struggle to return to form and the uncertainty surrounding his knee injury led the Packers to decide to move on from him. While Love plays the most important position on the field, it’s worth considering how much cap space Green Bay would allocate to a player who suffered such a severe injury.
Now that Love’s deal is finalized, all critical components of Green Bay’s offense are signed through the year. It’s time for the Packers to turn their attention to the ultimate prize: bringing the Lombardi Trophy back to the place where it truly belongs.
