It turns out the Green Bay Packers tried to give Aaron Rodgers what he wanted, but it still wasn’t good enough.
Just when it appeared things might be getting better in the ongoing Cold War between Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers, another bomb has been dropped.
A supposed sticking point this NFL offseason for Rodgers has been the Packers inability to commit to him for the long term. From drafting Jordan Love with a first round pick in 2020, to refusing to publicly say Rodgers is the guy, to not restructuring his contract, the drama has had more twists and turns than a daytime soap opera.
But as it turns out, the Packers haven’t been in the wrong as badly as it has appeared.
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Packers indeed offered Rodgers a contract extension to keep him in Green Bay for another five seasons, but he turned them down.
This offseason, the Packers offered Aaron Rodgers a two-year contract extension that would have tied him to Green Bay for five more seasons and made him the highest-paid QB and player in football,” Schefter reported on Tuesday. “Rodgers declined the offer, proof it’s not about the money.”
What this means is the Packers have been doing all they can to make Rodgers happy, but it’s the MVP quarterback who has been the stick in the mud not the other way around. Fans in Green Bay want Rodgers back, because who wouldn’t want one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL under center, but the offseason of drama has been draining.
Schefter reporting that Rodgers has been setting the Packers up to fail all along is both frustrating for fans sick of hearing about it, but also wholly unsurprising given who is at the center of the drama.
The next question becomes what does the future hold if Rodgers is indeed uninterested in a contract extension in Green Bay?
A trade still seems unlikely, as Rodgers is under contract for the 2022 season regardless of whether or not he signs an extension. Where things get interesting is after the season when the Packers are back in a position to potentially trade their franchise quarterback and officially usher in a new era.