The Green Bay Packers are expected to accommodate Aaron Rodgers if the star quarterback decides he would rather play elsewhere in 2023, but the return in a potential trade may not be as massive as many have assumed.
Rodgers is still owed a huge sum of money from the three-year, $150.8 million extension he signed with the Packers last offseason. He has a $58.3 million signing bonus for 2023 and a cap hit of $31.6 million. Any team that acquired Rodgers would have to have significant salary cap space already available or figure out a way to create it.
Rodgers is also 39 and has openly contemplated retirement several times. Is there a team out there desperate enough to give up multiple first-round draft picks and take on Rodgers’ huge salary to have him for one or maybe two seasons? Ian Rapoport of NFL Media said on “The Pat McAfee Show” Monday that he doubts it.
“I would imagine a first-round pick would be included. It’s Aaron Rodgers, but it’s just a lot of money and you might be only getting one year or two years,” Rapoport said. “I’m sure it’s more than (a first-round pick), but is it like the Russell Wilson deal?
“Four years ago, Rodgers almost couldn’t be traded because the compensation would be so high. Now, it’s going to be a lot because he’s still a great quarterback. Because of all the different factors, it might not be quite as much as you’d think because you have to pay the money as well.”
"I think the trade compensation could be a little less for Aaron Rodgers because you have to pay the money as well" ~ @RapSheet#PMSOverreactionMonday pic.twitter.com/fvCwtqUDE3
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) February 13, 2023
The Denver Broncos sent two first-round picks and then some to the Seattle Seahawks last offseason for Wilson. They then signed him to a five-year, $242 million extension. While the trade looked like a disaster this past season, Wilson is only 34. He will be around for several more years and now has Sean Payton as a head coach.
Rodgers has not even decided if he wants to play next season, so interested teams should assume he might only play one more year if he comes back. There may be one team that sounds desperate enough to let the Packers name their price, but they are not going to bid against themselves.
