While the Jets managed to restructure Aaron Rodgers’s massive contract in signing him, the franchise will now be obligated to pay him more than $100 million in 2024.
The four-time MVP and the Packers converted a $58.3 million option bonus for 2023 into a base salary in ’24 before Rodgers was traded. As a result, Rodgers will earn a base salary of $1.165 million in the upcoming season according to ESPN’s Dan Graziano.
But in ’24, the compensation for the 39-year-old will rise to $107.55 million, which includes his $47 million option bonus, his $1.21 million base salary and the converted $58.3 million bonus option from 2023. However, once New York applies the option bonus throughout his contract, the franchise will have the ability to navigate the cap hit by exercising it throughout his contract, which runs through ’27.
The Jets can also add a void year to lower the cap charges. If New York merely acquires his option bonus, Rodgers’s cap hit in ’24 would be $71.26 million, according to ESPN.
During his introductory press conference on Wednesday, Rodgers did not clearly state whether he would play in the ’24 season. However, he insinuated that he wanted to be with the franchise for more than one season, saying he would be in New York for the “foreseeable future.”
“They [Jets] definitely gave up some picks for me to be here, so this isn’t like one-and-done in my mind,” Rodgers said.
Rodgers also confirmed Wednesday that his deal may be restructured once again, according to ESPN.
New York gave up picks in the first, second and sixth rounds in this year’s draft—along with conditional 2024 second-round pick—to the Packers in exchange for Rodgers and picks Nos. 15 and 170 in this year’s draft. The 2024 pick will turn into a first-rounder if Rodgers played at least 65% of the Jets’ offensive snaps in 2023.
Rodgers started all 17 games for Green Bay in ‘22, throwing for 3,695 yards, 26 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. David Dunn, the agent for the Jets and Rodgers, has already started the conversation about restructuring Rodgers’s contract, one that could potentially be in place by the start of the Jets training camp.
For now, according to NFLPA, New York is $7.4 million beneath the cap. This allows the franchise to sign draft picks as well as go after free agents.
