Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers. (Photo by Rey Del Rio/Getty Images)
Aaron Rodgers looked especially rough in the first half of Week 17’s road game vs. the Detroit Lions. How many years is he still under contract?
Entering Week 17, the Green Bay Packers had every opportunity in front of them this postseason. Green Bay clinched the NFC North division crown on Monday Night Football last week by dominating the Minnesota Vikings. The Packers still had home-field advantage to play for in the NFC, but we didn’t expect this bad of a showing in the first half of Week 17 by Aaron Rodgers.
Green Bay trailed the awful division rival Detroit Lions 17-3 at halftime at Ford Field. Detroit is 3-11-1 on the year and would be picking third overall in the 2020 NFL Draft if the Lions were to lose their final game at home this year to Green Bay. However, Rodgers completed only 6-of-18 passes for 90 yards in the first half. This isn’t going to cut it in the NFC playoffs at all.
Sure, for the Lions, this is their Super Bowl, a chance to spoil the Packers’ shot at home-field advantage in the NFC playoffs. That being said, one would have thought Green Bay would have come out and dominated the Lions in the first half so that the starters wouldn’t have to play in the final two quarterbacks. We can thank Rodgers’ lackluster first half for this.
How much longer is Rodgers under contract in Green Bay? According to Spotrac, Rodgers is under contract with the Packers through the 2023 NFL season, one where the former NFL MVP will be 39-years-old. He won’t be hitting unrestricted free agency until 2024 when he’s 40. However, there is a potential out after the 2022 NFL season, but that will be a $17.2 million dead cap hit.
The way Rodgers’ salary is structured features the bulk of his salary this year and in 2020 to be of the signing bonus variety. That all flips to a $14.7 million base salary for 2021, a season where he’ll be 37 years old. In short, the Packers have one more season left before Rodgers becomes a huge part of their salary cap. But will he still be playing up to a lofty standard by then?
Let’s not freak out about how middle-of-the-pack Rodgers has been this year. He’s only had two bad games this year: at the San Francisco 49ers and this first half in Week 17 vs. Detroit. Green Bay is more than capable of winning a playoff game at home this season, but the Packers can’t win the Super Bowl if Rodgers continues to play this poorly going forward.