Before releasing the veteran wide receiver on Tuesday, the Green Bay Packers asked Jordy Nelson to take a substantial pay cut, according to Jason Wilde of ESPNWisconsin.com.
Nelson was scheduled to earn $9.25 million from the Packers in base salary in 2018, per NFLPA records. Per Wilde, the team asked Nelson to trim his salary to amount not significantly higher than the league minimum amount for a player of Nelson’s experience.
For a 10-year veteran like Nelson, the minimum salary Nelson could earn in 2018 would be $1.105 million.
Nelson has posted a 1,000 yards receiving four times in his tenure in Green Bay and recorded double-digit touchdowns on three separate occasions. However, he caught just 53 passes for 482 yards and six touchdown with the Packers last year. It was one of his least productive seasons with the team since emerging as a top target in 2011, though Aaron Rodgers missing a sizable chunk of the year due to injury certainly played a part as well.
With the type of money being thrown at receivers the last few days, it’s not a surprise that Nelson would feel confident he could find a better paycheck elsewhere in the NFL. He begins that search with a visit to the Oakland Raiders on Wednesday.