It’s been a dream come true for fans of the New York Jets since the organization acquired Aaron Rodgers in the offseason.
It might just be an even bigger dream for the future Hall-of-Fame quarterback though.
Rodgers has seamlessly transitioned to his new football home over the last few months. He’s helped transform the Jets organization into a respectable team to be feared, while also getting to know some of his new and talented teammates. All that was seemingly left to worry about was reworking his contract to give the team a better chance to succeed in the long term.
Wednesday afternoon proved that the lone question surrounding the Jets’ cap situation has been solved. Rodgers and the Jets agreed to a two-year, $75 million guaranteed contract through the 2024 season, as first reported by NFL Network.
The four-time NFL MVP had shifted his $58.3 million option bonus from 2023 to 2024 and moved his salary to $1.165 million for the 2023 season, but it came with a massive compensation package of $107.55 million in 2024 that the team would have been forced to deal with.
That unprecedented $107.55 million cap hit could have severely crippled the Jets as they looked to continue a run of championship contention for multiple years. Now, it looks like they won’t have to worry about that, or if Rodgers will end up playing for just a year.
“Some of it is how much fun I’m having,” Rodgers said. “The team gave up significant pieces to get me for this to just be a one-year deal and I’m aware of that…I’m having a blast so I don’t see this as a one-year-and-done thing.”
Having assurances from the star quarterback that he’ll be playing with the Jets for longer than just the 2023 season is a massive boost for a team that hasn’t won a playoff game since 2010. Rodgers has already begun to change the culture inside 1 Jets Drive before the games even begin.
