Amidst talks, Jordan Love and the Packers are “making progress” on extending their contract.
Jordan Love isn’t practicing until his new deal with the Green Bay Packers gets done.
Luckily, it appears to be close.
Dianna Russini of The Athletic reported Love and the Packers are “making progress” toward getting a deal done sooner than later. Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk described the talks as being “pretty close” to being done.
Love is set to make $10.5 million in 2024 under terms of the contract he agreed to last offseason before embarking on his first year as a starter. It didn’t take long for Love to outplay his new contract, throwing for 4,159 yards and 32 touchdowns against 11 interceptions while leading the Packers to a surprise playoff performance.
Love’s new contract is expected to place him among the NFL’s highest-paid quarterbacks. Joe Burrow and Trevor Lawrence each make $55 million per season, most among quarterbacks. Deshaun Watson’s $230 million guarantee is the highest in the NFL, though that fully guaranteed deal remains an outlier.
Love has been at team facilities during training camp but is refusing to participate in workouts until a new deal is reached.
“We certainly understand where he’s coming from,” general manager Brian Gutekunst told reporters. “We’d like him to be out there. It’s important for him to be out there. Obviously you guys know how important practice is, and working with his teammates. But as of now, until we get that resolved, he will not be practicing.”
While the Packers have plenty of time before the start of the regular season, Love is only coming into his second year as a starter. This time is critical for him and teammates to continue building on the momentum they started last season.
The fact that the Packers have allowed negotiations to spill into training camp is arguably mismanagement—particularly given the fact it’s clear they’re planning to pay him anyway.
