Packers waste no more time locking down Jordan Love: Contract grade, details

On Friday, one of the first remaining quarterback dominoes fell when the Dolphins inked Tua Tagovailoa to a long-term extension. Many speculated that would put pressure on the Green Bay Packers, specifically, to try and wrap up their negotiations with their own quarterback, Jordan Love.

And indeed it did appear to create a new sense of urgency for Brian Gutekunst and the Packers brass.

Green Bay completed a four-year contract extension on Friday night, one that will lock up Jordan Love as the team's franchise quarterback through the 2028 season. Now, they turn the page officially for the long haul from Aaron Rodgers to Love, giving this franchise three decades of quarterback stability and, at least the hope is with the newly signed signal-caller, success.

Packers extend Jordan Love: Contract grade and details

Per NFL Media insider Ian Rapoport, it's a four-year, $220 million extension for Love with a $55 million AAV that ties both Trevor Lawrence and Joe Burrow as the highest-paid quarterbacks and players in NFL history.

Per ESPN insider Adam Schefter, the deal has a $75 million signing bonus, a new league record, and $155 million in guarantees.

The Packers reached this point with Love in record time too. Just last offseason, the organization was contemplating his fifth-year option and ultimately settled on a short-term, lower-cost extension for the former first-round pick out of Utah State. He paid that off tremendously, leading Green Bay to the Divisional Round of the playoffs and nearly upsetting the 49ers as well.

On the whole, Love finished his first season as the Packers starter completing 64.2% of his throws for 4,159 yards with 32 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. What stands out most, however, is the improvement that the young quarterback showed throughout the year as he garnered more experience under center.

Over the first eight games of the season, Love had his share of issues, completing a mere 59.6% of his throws for just 1,720 yards with 12 touchdowns but also eight interceptions. In the next eight games, that flipped on its head with Love converting on 68.0% of his passes with 20 touchdowns and only three picks.

Love morphed and developed into the reliable starter that the Packers hoped he'd be whenever they handed the keys to him from Rodgers. While sitting for several seasons didn't make him immediately ready, he was legitimately one of the best quarterbacks in the league in the second half of the 2023 campaign.

Having said that, this contract doesn't come without some risk. After all, it's just a one-season sample size with Love at this point. Furthermore, the uneven halves of the season warrant at least some mild concern, though I remain of the belief that his future is much more aligned with the second half than the first.

It's a win for the Packers and for Jordan Love, even with some inherent risk.

Grade: A-