Rodgers, Packers Agree To Record Deal Worth $200M: Report

GREEN BAY, WI — Quarterback Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers have agreed to terms on a four-year, $200 million contract that would make him the highest-paid player in NFL history, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport.

Rodgers will get $153 million in guaranteed money in the deal, according to the report, which cites league sources.

Rodgers can't sign any new contract until March 16, when the NFL's free agency period officially begins at 3 p.m. CT.

Rodgers' new contract has an annual average of $50 million, which includes any signing bonus money the contract is likely to have in addition to yearly base salaries and roster bonuses. That average eclipses the previous high set by Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who signed a 10-year, $450 million deal in July 2020, according to Spotrac. Mahomes' contract came with $141.4 million in guaranteed money.

After agreeing to the deal with Rodgers, Green Bay applied the franchise tag to All-Pro receiver Davante Adams, according to ESPN's Dan Graziano. The tag prevents Adams from negotiating with other teams but guarantees him $20.1 million, 120 percent of his 2021 salary, for the 2022 season. Adams and the Packers have until July to reach a long-term deal or he will play under the tag for the season.

Pat McAfee, a former NFL punter who often has Rodgers appear on his radio talk show, first reported that the quarterback planned to return to the Packers and refuted reports of the record-breaking contract, citing his own league sources.

The new contract represents a triumph for the Packers, who many have speculated would lose Rodgers to free agency after it appeared the relationship between the two sides had soured in recent years. The Packers also drafted quarterback Jordan Love with their first-round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft. The pick upset fans and puzzled many reporters and analysts, who assumed the Packers would draft a player who could more immediately help Rodgers and the team win a Super Bowl title, something the team hasn't accomplished since 2011.

Rodgers opened up for the first time about the perceived rift between him and the team prior to last season. He told ESPN it wasn't about the team picking his potential replacement, but his belief that the Packers' organizational philosophy had "gone awry."

Rodgers was contemplating retirement or a possible trade to the Denver Broncos before deciding to come back to Green Bay, according to a CBSSports.com report. The structure of the contract was instituted for salary cap purposes and would allow Rodgers to decide year-to-year whether he wants to retire, according to the report.

In addition to tagging Adams, the Packers have made moves to entice him to come back, including letting him have more influence on major decisions.

The Packers recently re-hired Tom Clements to be Rodgers' quarterbacks coach. Clements and Rodgers had a strong relationship when both were with the Packers. Clements was the Packers' quarterbacks coach from 2006 to 2011, the offensive coordinator from 2012 to 2015 and associate head coach from 2015 to 2016. The two were paired together in the 2010-'11 season in which Rodgers led the Packers to a Super Bowl title and won MVP as well as his MVP season in 2014.

Rodgers, a no-doubt future Hall of Famer, is coming off back-to-back MVP seasons. He is second in NFL history with four MVP awards in his career, trailing only Peyton Manning, who won five. Rodgers also is the first player to win back-to-back MVPs since Manning in 2008 and 2009.

Rodgers will enter his 18th season with the Packers in 2022 and is the longest-tenured quarterback in franchise history, which includes legends Bart Starr and Brett Favre. Both played 16 seasons with the Packers.