Aaron Rodgers returning to Packers on extension that will make QB NFL's highest paid-player
After everything, Aaron Rodgers is ready for another go with the Green Bay Packers.
The quarterback is returning to the team after agreeing to a four-year, $200 million contract extension, a person with knowledge of the move told USA TODAY Sports, in a deal that will make him the NFL's highest-paid player based on average annual salary. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the move was not yet official. The deal also includes $153 million guaranteed.
Pat McAfee of "The Pat McAfee Show" first reported the news.
Rodgers surpasses the Kansas City Chiefs' Patrick Mahomes, who earns $45 million on his current deal.
Rodgers acknowledged on Twitter that he was returning to the team but claimed "supposed terms" of the agreement were inaccurate.
Rodgers reached the decision after nearly two months since the end of the season, the quarterback weighing alternatives of retirement or seeking to join another team via trade.
The move brings a close to arguably the most tumultuous chapter of Rodgers' 17-year NFL career, the entirety of which has been spent with the Packers.
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Last spring, reports emerged that Rodgers sought a trade from the franchise for which he had spent his entire career. He skipped mandatory minicamp for the first time before eventually reporting for training camp.
Given Rodgers' indications of his frustrations with general manager Brian Gutekunst and Packers brass, many assumed the 2021 season would be the quarterback's last in Green Bay. But Rodgers mounted a campaign that culminated with him being voted the NFL's MVP for the second consecutive year and fourth time in his career.
After the top-seeded Packers were upset in the divisional round by the San Francisco 49ers, Rodgers acknowledged that he was considering all options for 2022, including retirement.
But Rodgers praised the Packers after the season, thanking Gutekunst and the rest of the team's front office in his MVP acceptance speech. Speaking on "The Pat McAfee Show" on Tuesday, Rodgers said his exit interview was "much different" in a "positive way" compared to the previous year.
With Rodgers back in the fold, the Packers will now turn their attention to maintaining the core of a franchise that has gone 39-10 over the past three years. Green Bay later Tuesday issued the franchise tag to Davante Adams, the All-Pro receiver and Rodgers' favorite target who now will be prevented from hitting the open market as an unrestricted free agent.
Green Bay is set to have 12 unrestricted free agents, including linebacker De'Vondre Campbell and cornerback Rasul Douglas, who both enjoyed breakout campaigns. Gutekunst said he hoped to return both, and the team has cleared salary-cap space in recent days by restructuring the contracts of offensive tackle David Bakhtiari, defensive tackle Kenny Clark and running back Aaron Jones.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Aaron Rodgers returns to Packers, becomes NFL's highest-paid player
