NFL Rumors: Jordan Love, Packers Have Had ‘Positive’ Contract Talks; Deal Not Close

Adam WellsJuly 20, 2024

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As Jordan Love gets ready to enter his second season as starting quarterback for the Green Bay Packers, he is also seeking a long-term contract extension coming off a breakout 2023.

Appearing on SportsCenter (starts at 3:20 mark), ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported Love and the Packers have had “positive” contract talks but a deal isn’t considered close at this point.

Fowler did note discussions will likely pick up when the Packers open training camp next week.

The Packers made a strategic move last offseason by getting Love to sign a one-year extension in place of the fifth-year option on his rookie contract. The deal includes $13.5 million guaranteed and can max out at $22.5 million.

Love’s $13.5 million salary ranks 19th among all quarterbacks, just ahead of Gardner Minshew ($12.5 million).

It will be interesting to see what kind of deal the Packers offer Love, both in terms of guaranteed money and total value.

ESPN’s Adam Schefter said in May he didn’t think the Packers were “anywhere close” to getting a deal done at that point, but Love could get a bigger contract than what Jared Goff signed with the Detroit Lions.

Goff’s extension with the Lions was for four years and $212 million with $170 million guaranteed. Things may have also been further complicated by Trevor Lawrence signing a five-year, $275 million extension with the Jacksonville Jaguars last month that tied Joe Burrow’s deal as the highest-paid quarterback in the league.

One potential concern for the Packers is Love’s body of work is very small. Last year was his first season as a starter, and he largely didn’t play well for the first half of it. The 25-year-old threw for 2,009 yards, 14 touchdowns, 10 interceptions and a 58.7 completion percentage in his first nine games.

Love went on a heater to close the season, though. He had 2,616 yards, 23 touchdowns and three interceptions over his final 10 games, including the playoffs.

It’s certainly a risk to bet a potential $200-plus million contract on such a small sample size of games, but the results Love put up were so good that it’s hard to envision the Packers not eventually getting a deal done.