The NFL’s free agent frenzy is a couple of days old and the Green Bay Packers have stayed on the sidelines after restructuring several veteran contracts to get under the 182.5 million dollar salary cap and re-sign All Pro running back Aaron Jones.
If General Manager Brian Gutekunst is going to dip his toes into the shallowing free agent pool, some more number crunching will have to take place. Most notably with Aaron Rodgers, who now has the highest cap number in the league at 37.5 million dollars. He’s due a sizeable roster bonus on the third day of the league’s calendar year which is today. Moving some money around could give the organization some spending capital.
Wide receiver Davante Adams is entering the final year on his contract in 2021 and a lucrative extension is going to have to be negotiated sooner rather than later and if that mega-deal gets worked out, the Packers will have even more salary breathing room.
All four exclusive rights free agents have received tender offers from the team. Wide receives Allen Lazard and Malik Taylor along with offensive tackle Yosh Nijman and linebacker Randy Ramsey.
Three players have departed the team in the past couple of days, two of them heading to the Detroit Lions. Running back Jamaal Williams agreed to terms on a two year, 7.5 million dollar deal. Williams is likely to assume a similar spot rotation role in Detroit which drafted DeAndre Swift last year and Kerryon Johnson returning.
Also headed to the Motor City is backup quarterback Tim Boyle. He signed a one year, 2.5 million dollar contract to back up the Lions new starter in Jared Goff, acquired in the Matthew Stafford trade with the Rams. Boyle was the understudy to Rodgers the last three years but the team wants to accelerate to development of last year’s number one pick Jordan Love.
Defensive lineman Montravius Adams has also moved on, signing on a year deal that could earn him up to 2.5 million with the New England Patriots. Adams showed promise at times but injuries kept him from becoming a rotational play on the defensive front.
Three years ago, the Packers signed Chicago Bear defensive back Kyle Fuller to a restricted free agent tender offer but the Bears matched it to keep him. With his deal expiring, Green Bay was thought to be interested again but Fuller has signed on with the Miami Dolphins instead. The Mitchell Trubisky run in Windy City has also come to an end. He signed a one year deal for 2.5 million to be Josh Allen’s back up in Buffalo. Think about that, Chicago selected Trubisky number two overall, trading up to get him no less, and he signed for the same length and money as Boyle, an undrafted free agent who never saw the field except in mop up or kneel down games during his career.
After suffering financial losses (like just about everyone during the pandemic), the NFL has more than made up for it by announcing a new 10 year television rights contract that will bring in the astronomical amount of an estimated 110 billion dollars. 10 billion a year beginning in 2022 through the 2033 season. That amounts to nearly 300 million dollars of revenue annually per team before a single ticket or hot dog is sold. The regular broadcast partners, CBS, NBC and Fox are all back. The Disney Company, owners of ABC and ESPN are also in the mix and they’ll become a part of the playoff partners immediately and Super Bowl coverage rotation beginning in 2026. ESPN+ will also be streaming a select number of games each season. Amazon is also a full-time player, streaming Thursday night games on Amazon Prime but those games will also be carried locally over the air to non-subscribers. A 17th regular season game hasn’t been officially announced but that was a part of the negotiations. So while there has been plenty of hand wringing over this year’s revenue dip, owners and players alike will be swimming in green very soon.
