Cal Sports Report

Aaron Rodgers Dismisses Report That He Wants to Be Highest Paid Player

ESPN reporter claims former Cal star is asking for about $50 million a year, but he says the report is 'categorically false'

Jake Curtis

Aaron Rodgers Dismisses Report That He Wants to Be Highest Paid Player
Aaron Rodgers Dismisses Report That He Wants to Be Highest Paid Player /
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Former Cal star Aaron Rodgers reportedly wants the Packers to rework his contract to make him the highest paid player in the NFL "by a wide margin," something around $50 million a year. On Friday Rodgers called the report "categorically false."

ESPN's Dianna Russini made the comments about Rodgers' contract requests during "The Rich Eisen Show" on Thursday. It's not clear whether that would be what it would take for Rodgers to decide to stay with the Packers, or if that is his salary expectation for whatever team he plays for next season.

"He wants to be the highest-paid player in the NFL by a wide margin, so we're talking about $50 million per year," Russini said on 'The Rich Eisen Show."

Rodgers still has not announced whether he will (a.) stay with the Packers in 2022, (b.) request to go to another team or (c.) retire, but he did tell Pat McAfee on Friday that the report that he wants to be the highest paid player in NFL history is not accurate.

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In any case, it appears Rodgers is making requests to modify his current contract. Rodgers is due to earn nearly $27 million in 2022 under his existing contract extension.

It may also be signal to other teams interested in acquiring Rodgers what it will cost them to obtain him. Multiple teams have already made offers to the Packers for Rodgers even though he has yet to announce his plans for 2022.

The highest-paid player at the moment is Patrick Mahomes, who signed a 10-year, $45 million extension in July 2021 that could end being worth as much as $503 million. 

Rodgers may deserve to be the highest paid player in the NFL. After all he was named the MVP each of the past two seasons and is one of two players to win the MVP four times or more. (Rodgers has won it four times; Peyton Manning won it five times.).

Not surprisingly, the Packers might be willing to do just that.  On Feb. 13, NFL.com reported this:

Assuming he stays, Rodgers will need a new deal for the 2022 season, and sources say the Packers are willing to offer him a deal that makes him the highest-paid QB in the NFL on a per-year basis -- likely a two-year pact worth more than $45 million annually, with voidable years on the back end to make it work with the cap. That would also allow the team more flexibility to tag wide receiver Davante Adams, along with other offseason moves.

In fact, during the 2021 offseason, when Rodgers was upset with the Packers' front office requested a trade, the Packers offered Rodgers a deal that would have made him the highest paid NFL player, but Rodgers declined.

Packers GM Brian Gutekunst said on Wednesday that he never promised Rodgers that the Packers would trade him if he requested a trade this year. But Gutekunst also said the Packers cannot address their many roster issues until the Rodgers situation is settled.

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Cover photo of Aaron Rodgers by Wm. Glashen, USA TODAY NETWORK

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Jake Curtis
JAKE CURTIS

Jake Curtis worked in the San Francisco Chronicle sports department for 27 years, covering virtually every sport, including numerous Final Fours, several college football national championship games, an NBA Finals, world championship boxing matches and a World Cup. He was a Cal beat writer for many of those years, and won awards for his feature stories.

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