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Aaron Rodgers contract explained: How the Jets (or their old QB) could opt out of the deal in 2025

Posted on by Bobb
Aaron Rodgers contract explained: How the Jets (or their old QB) could opt out of the deal in 2025

The Jets remain hopeful for the 2024 season, but everyone in the organization knows making the playoffs is a monumental task after falling to 2-6 in Week 8.

A win over the Texans on Thursday night might be cause for celebration, but it may only delay the inevitable for a team that must be near perfect to avoid extending the NFL’s long playoff drought. Once it’s official that New York won’t make the playoffs, questions about 2025 will begin.

The Jets will likely begin a coaching search given that interim Jeff Ulbrich has made little progress since replacing the fired Robert Saleh. What about Aaron Rodgers? Would the Jets want to bring him back for his age 41 season? Will he want to continue playing?

Here’s a look at Rodgers’ contract and how each side can get out of the deal.

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Aaron Rodgers Contract Details

Rodgers is in the second year of a three-year, $112.5 million contract. The deal expires after the 2025 season, although the cap will extend through the 2029 season. Rodgers’ cap hit for 2024 is just $17.2 million.

Rodgers’ original contract, signed with the Packers in 2022, was for three years and just over $150 million, making him the highest-paid quarterback in the NFL at the time. He and the Jets reworked the deal after he was traded, with the former MVP giving up a total of $37.5 million to reduce his hit rate each season and allow the franchise to add talent around him. That’s part of what made the acquisition of WR Davante Adams possible earlier in October.

The Jets did not include an insurance policy in this deal, meaning the team didn’t return the money when Rodgers injured his Achilles in 2023. The insurance policy would have no impact on Rodgers’ salary, but could save the Jets some money.

Rogers earns an average of $37.5 million per year on a deal that expires after 2025. His cap hit for 2024 is just $17.2 million per year. The Jets will feel the impact of the deal even after it’s completed, as Rodgers’ cap will be extended through 2029.

Could the Jets get some relief if they let Rodgers go until 2025? Unless he retires, not really. Rodgers’ cap hit would drop from $23.5 million to $14 million in 2025 if he were designated a player after June 1, but then the Jets would have a $35 million dead cap on the 2026 deal.

It’s hard to imagine New York accepting the 2025 benefit in exchange for a much tougher 2026 figure. contract if he signs a long-term deal with the Jets.

A smarter financial move might be to extend Rodgers’ contract for another year, but that decision would depend on Rodgers’ desire to continue his career.

MORE: Aaron Rodgers: Jets must embrace ‘darkness’

Will Aaron Rodgers retire?

Before the 2024 season, Rodgers said he planned to play at least two more seasons, but admitted it would depend on how the year goes.

“I hope I can play another two, three or four years, but it takes some luck as well,” Rodgers said on the “Look Into It” podcast in March.

Rodgers was injury-free in 2024 after missing nearly all of 2023 with a torn Achilles, but it hasn’t been an easy season for him either. He was often beaten behind a shaky offensive line, to the point where he hobbled during games, and the Jets suffered several heartbreaking losses. Rodgers’ mobility is also more limited than before.

At the same time, Rodgers’ arm has looked pretty impressive all year, and he has his friend Adams under contract for next season. Leaving would also mean giving up the $37.5 million he is owed in the final year of his contract. The Jets could offer Rodgers a better coaching situation in 2025, with the search likely to begin in January.

Rodgers has flirted with retirement before, considering retirement in both 2022 and 2023. The answer in each case was to continue playing, but the four-time MVP was quite candid when he said he was “90 percent retired” before deciding to play for the team. Jets less than two years ago.

The final nine games of the Jets’ season, followed by Rodgers’ recovery from a grueling year, may have to play out before any definite word is said about the Hall of Famer’s future plans.