When should Packers start to get worried about Jordan Love contract?

If it seems like the Green Bay Packers were just embroiled in quarterback contract drama just one year ago, it's because they were.

There are many benefits to letting your first-round pick sit on the bench behind a future Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback for three years, and the Packers have reaped those benefits for decades. The only downside is that Green Bay barely gets to enjoy the success of the young quarterback while he's still on his rookie contract.

Green Bay drafted quarterback Jordan Love in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft, but he didn't take over as the team's full-time starter until 2023, after the team's acrimonious relationship with former quarterback Aaron Rodgers finally came to an end. Love is heading into the fourth year of his rookie deal, which means a contract extension is lingering in the near future after just one year as the starting quarterback.

Packers should sign Jordan Love before market explodes again

ESPN's Adam Schefter said in May that he didn't believe the Packers were anywhere close to getting a deal done, but Love will ultimately get a contract larger than the one signed by Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff, who signed a four-year, $212 million contract earlier this offseason.

Green Bay doesn't appear to have made any progress with Love's contract. During an appearance on SportsCenter, ESPN's NFL insider Jeremy Fowler reported that Love and the Packers had "positive" contract talks but a deal isn't considered close at this point.

The Packers should start to worry at some point, but it's understandable if team leadership wants to see a larger sample size from Love before deciding on a contract extension. The 25-year-old quarterback finished the 2023 season with 4,159 yards, 32 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions. It was a spectacular performance, but it was also a tail of two halves. During the first nine games of the season, Love completed just 58.7 percent of his passes while throwing for just 2,009 yards, 14 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions.

Ultimately, the best possible outcome for the team would be to sign the quarterback before the next group of quarterbacks cash in and reset the market.

The Packers signed Love to a one-year extension in place of exercising the fifth-year option. The extension, which includes $13.5 in guaranteed money and a maximum of $22.5 million, grants the Packers control of Love through the 2025 season. Yet, that doesn't necessarily mean that Green Bay should wait until the very last moment to sign Love to a long-term contract extension.

Teams that have made that mistake, such as the Dallas Cowboys with quarterback Dak Prescott and the Miami Dolphins with Tua Tagovailoa, are currently regretting it. Both teams could have locked up their franchise quarterbacks for significantly cheaper prices last year, but instead opted to wait until this offseason, when the market ballooned north of $50 million for any quarterback worth his salt.

With the market projected to potentially rise to $60 million next season, the Packers would be wise to get a deal done with Love as soon as possible.