In case you were wondering, the Packers are unable to extend Jordan Love until after May 2, 2024. This implies that his current contract will last through the start of the 2024 season and cannot be extended until after the inaugural free agency and draft.
Jordan Love’s contract extension: Why Packers didn’t exercise fifth-year option for new starting quarterback.
That’s not to say Love has played poorly in Green Bay, or even failed to live up to expectations that come with a first-round selection. But it seems as if general manager Brian Gutekunst is willing to take a calculated risk and see how Love performs as a full-time starter before working up a long-term deal.
Curiously, the Packers find themselves in a similar situation as the Giants in 2022, when New York declined to exercise Daniel Jones’ fifth-year option. Jones, the sixth overall pick of the 2019 draft, responded by leading the Giants to a playoff berth while completing 317 of 472 passes (67.2 percent), for 3,205 passing yards and 15 touchdowns. He also rushed 120 times for 708 yards and seven more scores.
MORE: NFL Fifth-Year Option Tracker
New York’s choice not to exercise Jones’ fifth-year option harmed the organization in the short run, since the team signed Jones to a four-year, $160 million agreement with a $82 million guarantee to avoid the franchise tag. Whether the Packers go that way with Love next year remains to be determined, but it’s unlikely they’d mind if his performance in 2023 necessitated a significant contract.
Here’s all you need know about Green Bay’s decision:
Why the Packers did not exercise Jordan Love’s fifth-year option.
The Packers’ one-year extension with Love is reportedly worth up to $22.5 million, with $13.5 million guaranteed. The total value of the extension, as noted by Spotrac, is nearly identical when compared to his fifth-year option: $22.562 million, with $2.29 million coming in 2023 and $20.272 million coming in 2024.
Here is the biggest difference with Love’s extension: Had Green Bay exercised his fifth-year option, all his money would have been guaranteed. As it stands now, Love only has $13.5 million in guarantees, roughly $10 million less than what he would have made otherwise. While Love can still make that money, he will have to earn it through incentives.
That tracks with what Gutekunst told reporters on Saturday after the 2023 NFL Draft, when he said the $20.27 million in guarantees Love would have made in 2024 is “a lot of money for a guy who hasn’t played.”
“Again, I’ve got to get through that,” he said. “It’s a lot of money for a guy who hasn’t played. But at the same time, obviously, we’re moving forward with him. So, we’ll figure that out by Tuesday.”
Indeed, Love has by far the least playing time of any quarterback taken in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft, a group that includes the Bengals’ Joe Burrow, the Dolphins’ Tua Tagovailoa and the Chargers’ Justin Herbert (all of whom have had their options exercised). He has action in just 10 games, completing 50 of 83 passes (60.2 percent) for 606 yards and three touchdowns to three interceptions. He is 0-1 as a starter in Green Bay.
Of course, it’s not Love’s fault he has played so sparingly heading into his fourth season: The Packers sat him behind a future Hall of Famer in Aaron Rodgers, whom Green Bay offloaded to the Jets before the NFL Draft as part of a package deal in return for New York’s 2023 first-, second- and sixth-round picks, as well as a 2024 conditional second-round pick that could become a first.
The question now is why Love decided to compromise with Green Bay instead of refusing the extension and betting on himself in 2023. While there certainly was more risk involved with that option, he could have placed himself in a more advantageous bargaining position with a Jones-like showing in his first year as a starter.
To Green Bay’s credit, it used six of its 13 NFL draft picks on offensive skill position players, bolstering the unit seemingly to help Love transition to full-time starter. Those include:
Oregon State Tight End Luke Musgrave (Round 2, Pick 42)
Michigan State receiver Jayden Reed (Round 2, Pick 50)
South Dakota State tight end Tucker Kraft (Round 3, Pick 78)
Virginia receiver Dontayvion Wicks (Round 5, Pick 159).
Central Michigan running back Lewis Nichols III (Round 7, Pick 235).
Charlotte receiver Grant DuBose (Round 7, Pick 256)
However, Green Bay’s failure to pick up Love’s fifth-year option suggests that 2023 will be the former first-round pick’s prove-it season. It’s up to Love now to determine how much money he can expect to make in Green Bay in the future.
