Report: Aaron Rodgers Signs Reworked Contract

Former Cal star now tied to Packers only through 2022, according to reports. But details suggest to some that Rodgers won't be in Green Bay in 2022.

Former Cal standout Aaron Rodgers has signed his renegotiated contract with the Packers, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported Thursday based on sources.

There were a couple of concessions noted in Schefter’s report, such as . . .

• The 2023 year in his original contract is voided, making 2022 the final year on his contract.

• Forfeiture provisions were removed from the contract, preventing the Packers from pursuing prorated portions of Rodgers' signing bonus.

What is noteworthy is that if Rodgers were stay with Green Bay in 2022 the Packers would suffer a cap hit of more than $40 million, a number that is almost impossible for a team to bear. That gives Rodgers leverage after this season.

Tom Pelissero of NFL Network added details in several twitter posts:

There’s no new money in Aaron Rodgers’ new deal (adjusted upward to account for 18th game check):

2021
$6.8 million roster bonus (from March)
$14,464,706 signing bonus
$1.1M base salary
Total: $22,364,706

2022
$26,470,588 salary
$500K workout bonus
Total: $26,970,688

— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) July 29, 2021

Lastly, if Rodgers retires prior to the 2022 season, only the $11.5 million in remaining proration from his original $57.5M signing bonus in 2018 is subject to forfeiture (and GB would have to choose to collect it). Easier financially for Rodgers to walk away than it was in 2021.

— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) July 30, 2021

Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports suggests the wording and implications of the reworked contract almost guarantee that Rodgers will not be with the Packers in 2022.

The Aaron Rodgers-Packers deal is agreed to, per source and as @RapSheet reported. There's no exact, specific "if-then" language that ensures he's elsewhere in 2022, but it'd take something truly momentous to see Rodgers there this time next year.

— Jonathan Jones (@jjones9) July 29, 2021

This reporting means the 37-year-old Rodgers now has a two-year deal with the Packers, not three, and that slightly contradicts what Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst said earlier Thursday.

According to Sports Illustrated NFL reporter Albert Breer, Gutekunst disputed the notion that Rodgers would be a lame-duck quarterback in 2021 and said Rodgers still had three years left on his contract. Gutekunst did add the three words “at the moment” to his statement that the contract had three years to run, so technically he could have been speaking before the reworked deal was signed.

Gutekunst added "we may alter that, but even at that stage, it won't be a one-year contract."

And that jibes with Schefter’s report that the contract includes 2022, making it a two-year deal.

Packers GM Brian Gutekunst asked about Aaron Rodgers not wanting to be a "lame-duck quarterback", brings up that Rodgers has 3 years left on his deal "at that moment" and "we may alter that, but even at that stage, it won't be a 1-year contract."

— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) July 29, 2021

Rodgers reported to training camp this week and he was on the practice field for the Packers’ first day of practice on Wednesday.

He had an extensive session with the media on Wednesday in which he noted that he considered retirement and is unsure about his status with the Packers after the 2021 season.

Rodgers also ran down a long list of players who were released or traded in ways that he thought was insensitive and unfair. It seemed to be a direct jab at Packers’ management, specially president Mark Murphy and Gutekunst.

Rodgers said he would like to have more input regarding football decisions made by the Green Bay Packers, but he was not sure if anything has changed in that regard.

In general, his media session sounded pro-player and anti-front office.

Here is video of what Gutekunst said about Rodgers on Wednesday, a day before he made his comments reported by Breer above:

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Cover photo of Aaron Rodgers by Kirby Lee, USA TODAY Sports

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Follow Jake Curtis of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jakecurtis53

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