Already underpaid thanks to spikes in the salary cap and the quarterback market since signing his current contract five years ago, Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers was even more underpaid in 2017.
As noted by Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com, Rodgers lost $37,500 for each of the nine games he missed due to a broken collarbone suffered in October. That’s a total of $337,500 in lost compensation.
Rodgers otherwise earned a base salary of $12.55 million, along with a workout bonus of $500,000. But instead of $600,000 in per-game roster bonus, he pocketed only $262,500. That’s total 2017 pay of $13.31 million -- well below the current high-water mark of $27 million per year, earned by Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford.
The Packers reportedly will prioritize adjusting Rodgers’ deal, which covers two more years, this offseason. The longer the wait, the more expensive it could get, as more and more quarterbacks who aren’t as skilled or accomplished as Rodgers end up pushing the bar higher and higher.