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Rich Cimini, ESPN Staff Writer
FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — After months of speculation, quarterback Aaron Rodgers has agreed to a reworked contract with the New York Jets.
Although Rodgers wouldn’t divulge details, he did confirm the agreement Wednesday after practice, saying it would become official later in the day.
The contract is likely to reflect what he has been saying in recent days — that he plans to play more than one season with the Jets.
“The team gave up significant pieces for it to just be a one-year deal,” Rodgers, who will turn 40 in December, said. “I’m aware of that. … Anything could happen with my body or the success we have this year, but I’m having a blast, so I really don’t see this as a one-year-and-done thing.”
To facilitate his trade to the Jets, Rodgers restructured his contract with the Green Bay Packers in April, pushing a $58.3 million option bonus — fully guaranteed — into 2024, the final year of the deal.
Basically, the four-time NFL MVP was on the books for three months at the minimum salary in 2023 — only $1.2 million against the cap. Although the ridiculously low cap number provided flexibility for the Jets, it left a prohibitive cap charge in 2024: $107.6 million.
Rodgers and the Jets agreed from the outset to rework the deal. The revised contract likely will reflect more balance between the cap hits. It will be interesting to see whether Rodgers still receives his $58.3 million guarantee or agrees to take less.
ProFootballTalk.com first reported news of Rodgers’ revised contract Tuesday night.
From day one, Rodgers has talked glowingly about the Jets. He continued that Wednesday. Looking back on his monumental move from Green Bay, where he started for 15 seasons, Rodgers said, “We’ve all turned the page. It’s a new chapter. I think it’s going to be exciting for Green Bay, moving on. It’s definitely been really fun for me out here.”
The Jets, who have the NFL’s longest playoff drought at 12 years, have been energized by Rodgers’ presence. Players and coaches have raved about his knowledge of the game and his all-in approach.
“I mean, the guy glows in the dark,” coach Robert Saleh said. “He’s a pretty damn good quarterback.”
Rodgers has embraced the attention. He also has elevated the play of the offense, which finished 29th in scoring. “Change can be difficult, for sure, especially when it’s that drastic — 18 years in one spot,” Rodgers said. “If you can lean into it and embrace it, there’s some really beautiful things on the other side.
The offense wasn’t beautiful Wednesday, as it struggled through its worst day. Most of the problems stemmed from the reshuffled offensive line, which is without left tackle Duane Brown (shoulder). Former starting left tackle Mekhi Becton, working with the backups, sat out with residual soreness on his surgically repaired right knee. He’s day-to-day.
“Today was kind of a step back a little bit,” Rodgers said. “Felt a little tired as a whole. Mentally, we made a lot of mistakes. We have to clean some stuff up. It’s part of training camp.”
Source: www.espn.com