Packers receiver Jordy Nelson wanted $10 million per year. He nearly got it, depending on how his new contract is analyzed.
The Packers have announced that Nelson has signed a contract extension. Per multiple reports, it’s a four-year deal that will pay him $39 million. Coupled with his $3.50 million compensation for 2014, he’s now under contract for five years, $42.5 million. That’s an average of $8.5 million per year.
Nelson, a second-round pick in 2008, signed a team-friendly second contact in 2011, getting $13.35 million over three years. This time around, the Packers came much closer to breaking the bank.
The deal reportedly includes an $11.5 million signing bonus. The rest of the details, including key factors like fully guaranteed money, injury-only guarantees, and the annual triggers (if any) for flipping injury guarantees to skill/injury/cap guarantees, aren’t currently known.
The signing of Nelson at the front end of a contract year allows the Packers to focus on whether they can work out a contract for receiver Randall Cobb, who’s entering the final season of his rookie deal. In March, veteran James Jones left for Oakland via free agency, a year after Greg Jennings jumped to the Vikings.