Kirk Cousins may have made life difficult for the Green Bay Packers when he signed a three-year, fully guaranteed contract worth $84 million this offseason. Aaron Rodgers has just two more years remaining on his deal, and it’s no secret he wants a new one. While he probably won’t get a Cousins-type deal, the Packers may have to get creative with the six-time Pro Bowler.
In an interview with Peter King for King’s first “Football Morning in America” column with NBC Sports, Rodgers said he would be open to a unique contract agreement with the Packers. The example King laid out would be a deal that included annual raises for Rodgers based on the percentage the NFL salary cap increases.
“It’s only been on my mind because … people have been writing and talking about it a lot,” Rodgers said of his contract. “There have been many conversations about it. I think that there’s some merit to looking into where you do a non-traditional contractual agreement. If anybody at this point is gonna be able to do something like that, I think there needs to be a conversation about it. I never said anything about [tying the contract to] the cap. I just think there’s ways to do contracts where you can still be competitive so the team is happy about it, but have some more freedom.”
The only real risk the Packers have in not giving Rodgers an extension is angering their franchise player. The 34-year-old is signed through 2019, and Green Bay could always use the franchise tag after that if necessary. However, it might make Packers fans a little nervous that Rodgers has not ruled out playing elsewhere.
“I think in my time there, I realize no one is above the team,” he said. “They can trade Brett Favre, Jordy Nelson. They can not re-sign a Charles Woodson or Julius Peppers. They make decisions that are in the best interest of the team. It could be me at some point. You have to be humble enough to realize that, and I do. I’d love to be able to …
“How many guys get to actually pick the way and the team how they go out? You know? Hardly anybody. You have to understand that’s a real possibility. But yeah, my dream situation would be to stay in Green Bay.”
Rodgers has already hinted at what he might mean when he says he is open to a non-traditional contract agreement, and those types of ideas are likely why the situation still has not been resolved. While it would make sense for him to want to be the highest-paid QB in the league, it’s not that simple now that Cousins signed his fully guaranteed mega-deal.
