Aaron Rodgers restructured his contract in order to help facilitate a trade to the New York Jets, and the star quarterback is now scheduled to make an astronomical amount of money in 2024.
The Green Bay Packers converted Rodgers’ $58.3 million option bonus for 2023 into a base salary for 2024 before they traded him to New York. Rodgers will now make just $1.165 million this upcoming season, according to ESPN’s Rich Cimini. That is the veteran minimum and will also be Rodgers’ salary cap charge.
The Jets would have inherited a $15.8 million cap charge if Rodgers did not restructure his deal. While that is hardly prohibitive, it would have put the Jets over the cap.
Of course, the two sides will almost certainly need to reach another agreement on a restructure. Rodgers’ new contract has him making $107.55 million in 2024 now that his two massive option bonuses — the original $47 million option bonus on the three-year, $150 million extension Rodgers signed last year plus his $58.3 million bonus from this season — have been combined.
If the Jets do nothing, Rodgers’ salary cap hit in 2024 would be more than $71 million. There is no way they can stick with that figure, which is why another restructure is a virtual certainty.
The primary goal for Rodgers is to contend for a championship in New York. He even hinted that he could stick around longer than some people expect. The 39-year-old should be open to doing whatever is necessary to allow the Jets to build a great roster around him.
