Packers and QB Jordan Love agree to record 4-year, $220 million contract extension

By the end of last season, it became clear the Green Bay Packers felt they had their next answer at quarterback.

And with that, they had to pay their quarterback.

Jordan Love had a breakout in the second half of last season and led the Packers not just to the postseason but to a playoff win over the Dallas Cowboys. He was one of the hottest quarterbacks in the NFL late last season.

So on Friday night, Love and the Packers agreed to a four-year, $220 million contract extension, according to Yahoo Sports’ Jori Epstein. The deal will make Love the highest paid quarterback in NFL history.

Love will also receive a $75 million signing bonus as part of the deal, which is the largest in NFL history. About $155 million of his deal is fully guaranteed, too.

Love got the contract extension he earned during that late-season streak last fall. He and the Packers agreed to a deal. Love came to OTAs in good faith, but then was sitting out training camp practices as the extension was finalized.

The deal is done. Now the Packers can see how far Love can take them.

Jordan Love outperformed his deal

The Packers and Love have had an unusual path to this point. The team took Love in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft despite having Aaron Rodgers. Rodgers went on to win two MVPs after Love was drafted, and Love waited his turn.

Finally the Packers traded Rodgers and gave Love a shot. Love’s rookie deal was running out so the Packers had to get creative on his contract, so he got a one-year extension worth up to $22.5 million and $13.5 million guaranteed. Love struggled through the first seven games of last season, then took off. Suddenly he looked like a future star and the Packers had to figure out his contract situation again.

The extension gets Love closer in line with the rest of the NFL’s top-end starting quarterbacks. There is some risk involved considering Love still has just 18 career regular-season starts, but the Packers had to be excited about what they saw late last season.

Love coming off a big season

Through seven games last season, the Packers were 2-5. Love hadn’t played that well. Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst said that Love had 10 games to show he could be Green Bay‘s quarterback of the future.

Love was exceptional for the last half of the season. In the Packers’ final eight regular-season games he had 16 touchdowns and one interception. The Packers rallied to make the postseason and in Green Bay’s playoff win over the Cowboys, Love had a near-perfect 157.2 passer rating. The Packers lost the next week at the San Francisco 49ers but led that game until the final two minutes.

Love still needs to follow up that great half season, but the Packers obviously aren’t worried. Love played at an elite level for half of a season, and now he’s being paid like an elite quarterback.