Jordan Love Proven Worth All the Packers Pennies
There were insults and creative names applied to Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst unfit to print, the blush-in-church barbs that front office executives consider commonplace.
Dealing away a proven franchise pillar who brought a Lombardi Trophy to Lombardi Avenue, a four-time MVP quarterback in the pantheon of all-time greats, generates a visceral reaction. And even the most passive Packers fans failed to block out doubts about heir apparent Jordan Love seamlessly saddling up to pilot the Packers to the playoffs while Aaron Rodgers started over in New York.
How the tide has turned in 13 months.
Rodgers played four snaps for the Jets in 2023 before the MetLife Stadium carpet grabbed his leg and in a cruel twist of fate, flipped the tone and tenor of the conversation.
It wasn’t all Love from Gutekunst and Packers fans. Only seven games into his tenure as the undisputed starter in Green Bay, Love failed to generate a clean vote of confidence from his GM. Often at war with Rodgers behind the curtain, Gutekunst risked falling out of favor with Love on November 1 with the Packers sitting at 2-5. Even ardent supporters and most optimistic believers reached for the panic button.
Gutekunst himself sounded close to ringing alarm bells and doubt was difficult to hide.
Asked to rate Love’s play with 10 games to go, Gutekunst said: “Little bit up and down like our entire offense."
Far beyond a rough start, Love and the entire offense was b-r-u-t-a-l.
He ranked 30th in completion percentage, the Packers were 25th in total offense and 21st in points (18.9 per game). Love had eight interceptions, 11 touchdowns and botched potential game-winning drives at Atlanta (25-24 loss), Las Vegas (17-13 loss) and Denver (19-17 loss) to start down the road of writing the reverse of Rodgers’ legacy – he of the 21 fourth-quarter comebacks and 31 game-winning drives.
Finding a reason to believe in Love on the first day of November last year required some level of fairy tale buy-in, and somehow – Gutekunst and head coach Matt LaFleur got there.
The Packers tweaked Love’s contract in recognition of his role as the starter after three seasons as Rodgers’ understudy. The mutually beneficial pact proved the Packers’ short-term commitment with a nearly $9 million signing bonus but stopped short of the full fare in a fifth-year option ($20.3 million fully guaranteed).
It also set up a crossroads offseason, which is here now.
There was some hedging of bets on either side. Had Love faltered or flopped the rest of the year, the call would not be difficult with a draft class that produced six first-round picks.
He stood up to prove their commitment was the right call.
By the end of the regular season, Love lifted the Packers to playoff territory with a 96.1 passer rating. He threw only three more interceptions and finished with 32 TD passes and 11 picks. Green Bay climbed to 11th in total offense, 12th in points.
He flexed a big-game gene in must-wins down the stretch in December and January, then turned in a performance for the record books in his first playoff start at Dallas: 16 of 21, 272 yards, three touchdowns and a 48-32 thrashing of the Cowboys.
Gutekunst credited Love’s rise to the belief and bond he shared with teammates, the connectedness and fight that defines the team. This describes the brand of leadership that commands respect and leads to sustained success.
In the NFL, franchises fight for decades to get it right at quarterback, a priceless asset used to separate great teams from the rest.
Ask the Lions. Or the Bears. Maybe check in on the Vikings.
Gutekunst and the Packers mined another one, from Brett Favre to Rodgers and Love.
Which brings the once-slandered GM to his next franchise-defining decision: Love’s contract.
On multiple occasions since the season ended – at the NFL Scouting Combine in February, a month later at the NFL spring meetings in Florida and last month after the draft – Gutekunst dropped his cards on the table in plain view.
Love’s first 18 regular-season starts put him ahead of Rodgers’ pace in 2008, when he was promoted to the main gig after second-fiddling behind Favre for three seasons.
He’s intent on doubling down in support of Love, and now that the one-year hold on a new deal required by the collective bargaining agreement has passed, the Packers are daring to dive into the deep end of the QB contract market. Getting in now, before Dak Prescott redoes a deal to stay in Dallas or Trevor Lawrence pulls the trigger on a predictable whopper with the Jaguars, might be more settling.
Love has the same number of playoff wins (one) as Deshaun Watson ($46M average annual value) and Kirk Cousins ($45M) and more postseason victories than Kyler Murray ($46.1M) and Justin Herbert ($52.5) and only one of the 10 highest-paid quarterbacks in 2024 has a Super Bowl victory (Patrick Mahomes).
Jared Goff went 1-1 against Love last season and is set to become the second-highest paid QB in the NFL after taking Detroit one game further than the Packers in last season’s playoffs.
With a $50-plus million salary and hefty contract imminent, new terms are also being applied by Packers fans and one-time naysayers to Gutekunst. As he said this week, the “sky is the limit” for Love, the latest Packers’ quarterback to evolve into the envy of front offices around the league.