Jordan Love believes contract extension with Packers is on horizon

The Green Bay Packers are a little more than a month out from training camp, with Jordan Love still unsigned beyond the 2024 campaign. That is expected to change eventually, however, with Love and Green Bay discussing an extension that could make him one of the highest-paid players in the NFL.

It may seem early to back up the Brink's truck — Love has one year of proper NFL experience under his belt — but it's hard to knock the results. Love's first season in Aaron Rodgers' shoes was shockingly productive. There were fairly high expectations, but few expected Love and a young, unproven Packers team to actually contend.

Green Bay whooped the No. 2-seed Dallas Cowboys in the Wild Card Round and put up a good fight against the eventual NFC champs, the San Francisco 49ers, in the Divisional Round. San Francisco won the game 24-21. We were awfully close to getting Love and the Packers in the NFC Championship Game. That feels like a wholly realistic outcome this season.

If Love continues his upward trajectory, the Packers will contend for years to come. As such, Love is expected to receive a major haul on his next contract — predicted in the range of four years and $200 million by Spotrac founder Michael Ginnitti for The Athletic.

There is also optimism that a deal is on the horizon. In recent comments to reporters, Love said he expects to put pen to paper before training camp.

"It’s what I’ve heard," he told AP News.

Jordan Love expects Packers extension to be finalized before training camp

Love doesn't offer much in the way of detail, but he's clearly confident in the progress being made. The talented 25-year-old told reporters he likes "being in the mix" when it comes to negotiations, so he should have a strong read on the situation. It's his contract, after all, and Love is on the verge of life-changing money.

The Packers will try to keep the framework as team-friendly as possible, but in this day and age, all the elite quarterbacks receive historic paydays. Love's new mega-deal will increase the challenge of building out the roster around him, but Green Bay's youth (and the subsequent lack of overwhelmingly expensive contracts at skill positions) helps. The front office should have enough financial ammo to operate aggressively as the team looks to take the next step.

He's not perfect — late-game decisions were a problem for Love — but young QBs seldom are. What's important is that Love made meaningful improvement during the season and put together impressive performances on the postseason stage. To get that experience under his belt at such a young age is invaluable.

Now, it's up to Love and the Packers to sustain this positive momentum. The pressure mounts when you're making $50 million per year. Love will no longer be discussed as the promising upstart. He is going to be discussed as the well-compensated franchise cornerstone, which is a whole new standard.

In 17 games last season, Love completed 64.2 percent of his passes for 4,159 yards, 32 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions. We'll see if that's a jumping off point, the base line, or the top of the roller coaster.