With two years left on his contract, Aaron Rodgers doesn’t have a “drop-dead date” to get a new one. The Packers quarterback deserves to become the highest-paid player in football and is expected to become just that at some point in the near future.
But will Rodgers remain the highest-paid quarterback the rest of his career?
Rodgers talked to the media Monday for the first time since Mike Garafolo of NFL Media reported Rodgers wants “some sort of out clause” that would allow him to renegotiate the deal if another quarterback gets a bigger deal.
Ian Rapoport of NFL Media piggybacked Monday, saying Rodgers wants “a series of player options throughout his contract so he can at least have some sort of control over what he makes and under the circumstances under which he makes them.”
“I don’t talk about it to the media, and I don’t think my agent is either,” Rodgers said, via video from Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “A lot of it is just conjecture. Or stories that aren’t really based in factual interactions or misrepresented actions. I think that’s just part of it. It’s kind of a slow period for football right now and we’re heading into the summer, and there’s not much to talk about unless somebody gets arrested or injured in the offseason or something happens on the Fourth of July. That’s usually the stories we get now until training camp. I don’t have anything to report at this point, but I’m sure there will be some unnamed sources close to me that have some sort of scoop along the way.”
Rodgers’ answer didn’t answer the question, but he also didn’t deny he wants some control over his future salary.
Rodgers has outplayed the extension he signed in 2013, which is scheduled to pay him $19.8 million this season and $20 million in 2019. His yearly average of $22 million ranks only 10th in the league at his position.