Whilst I was on holiday, two monumental soap operas came to the end of their crushing boredom. Naturally, I refer here to:
- The Aaron Rodgers Saga – – Theme song could be “Aaron and the Jets …”
- The Lamar Jackson Epic – – Time to read Poe’s “Sonnet – To Silence”?
At various stages of the drama created by these folks over the past 10 weeks or so, various folks pointed out that either or both could opt to do something other than play QB in the NFL for the 2023 season. While such a decision by either party would not have violated any of the fundamental laws of physics, both would have acted against their best interests in making such a choice. Both men would forego the opportunity to earn tens of millions of dollars if they watched the games on TV this year.
Jackson has earned just over $30M in his five years with the Ravens; he is not ”hurting” economically and would be able to have food and shelter even if he were to sit out 2023. But the non-exclusive franchise tag on him guaranteed him $32M just to play in 2023; so, if he opted out of playing for that number, he was turning down an annual contract that would have doubled his career earnings to date. Not likely …
Rodgers has earned over $300M over the course of his career. Clearly, he does not need the money; $300M will brew a whole lot of ayahuasca tea leading to as much purging of emotional baggage as one might accumulate over several lifetimes. But leaving football would also leave Aaron Rodgers out of the social conversation and it seems to me that he enjoys being able to sit on the sidelines and coyly tell the world, “Hey, look at me over here doing nothing…”
So, let me look at the two deals that brought these stories to a close – – at least for now. Jackson got a bigger deal than Deshaun Watson did – – as he should because he is a better QB and a better person than Watson – – but his contract is not nearly “fully guaranteed”. If the previous reporting that said that fully guaranteed money was a critical element of his demand, then he lost the negotiation; if that reporting was “less than fully accurate”, then Jackson is the winner.
Jackson gets 5-years and $260M with – reportedly – $186M fully guaranteed. That is almost $30M more than Watson got and it is just a tad more than Jalen Hurts got just a week or so ago. Jackson will make an average of $52M per year through the 2027 season and the Ravens can point to the fact that yet another star QB signed a deal that was not “fully guaranteed” making the Watson contract even more of an outlier as opposed to a precedent setter. Both sides got something they wanted/needed out of the deal.
The resolution of Rodgers’ situation required a trade agreement between the Packers who have Rodgers under contract but do not want him on their team and the Jets who do not have a decent QB on their roster let alone a good QB on the roster. After weeks of posturing and “leaking” – – making the story appear to be kabuki theater – -, here are the terms of the deal:
The Jets get:
- Aaron Rodgers. That’s it; that’s the deal.
The Packers get:
- 2023 Draft pick swap in the first round. The Packers moved up two spots to #13 and the Jets moved down to #15. This is something but it is not seismic.
- 2023 Draft pick #42 (second round). High second round picks are usually considered valuable draft capital.
- 2024 Draft conditional second round pick. This pick converts to the Jets’ first round pick next year if Rodgers plays only 65% of the snaps in 2023. Unless he breaks a leg, he will surely do that given the rest of the Jets’ depth chart at QB.
I do not understand exactly how or why this is also a fallout from the deal, but various reports say that the Packers also get “cap relief” to the tune of $60M from the deal. I put it here only for the sake of completeness.
So, who “won the trade” between the Jets and the Packers?
- The Jets now have Rodgers under contract for 2023 and 2024 with options that could take him out to the end of 2026. Rodgers would be 43 years old at the end of the 2026 season.
- The Packers want to begin the “Jordan Love Era” in Green Bay and can now do so without any of those dreaded distractions that Rodgers would surely bring if he still belonged to the team.
- The Packers drafted LB, Lukas Van Ness (Iowa) with the swapped first round pick, and TE, Luke Musgrave (Oregon St.) with this year’s second round pick from the Jets. And … the Packers have what looks to be a first-round pick coming to them in 2024.
Both sides got what they needed from the deal which is to say Aaron Rodgers now plays in NY and not in Green Bay. Both teams must think they are better today than they were a week ago. Fans surely give thanks that they do not need to hear any more about the backing-and-forthing of these trade talks.
Finally, having mentioned Edgar Allen Poe above, let me close with one of his observations that applies to the fanbases of just about every NFL team in and round “Draft Time”:
“Man’s real life is happy, chiefly because he is ever expecting that it soon will be so.”
But don’t get me wrong, I love sports………