Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers. USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin

Here is why Packers are all but certain to trade Aaron Rodgers after 2021

Originally posted on Larry Brown Sports
By Steve DelVecchio | Last updated 7/30/21

Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers finally agreed to a reworked contract on Thursday that technically ties the star quarterback to the team through the 2022 season. However, it has been widely reported that Rodgers will play only one more season in Green Bay. The structure of his new contract all but guarantees that.

Tom Pelissero of NFL Network shared many of the details of Rodgers’ new deal. The contract saves Green Bay nearly $10 million in salary cap space this season, but Rodgers now carries a mammoth cap hit of $46 million in 2022. Packers salary cap guru Ken Ingalls provided a good breakdown of the new deal:

Aaron Rodgers new contract details:
2021 Cap: $27,923,569 ($9,278,431 savings)
2022 Cap: $46,144,157
2023 Cap: $7,673,568 (Void Year)

2022 Dead Cap: $26,847,137
2022 Savings if Traded: $19,297,020
2022 Post June Trade Savings: $26,970,588 https://t.co/ZUmpRa74Ua pic.twitter.com/6k2XTvIhze

— Ken Ingalls – Packers Cap (@KenIngalls) July 30, 2021

As you can see, it is all but a guarantee that the Packers will not want to keep Rodgers at his current 2022 cap hit. According to Over the Cap, Green Bay is now roughly $50 million over the salary cap for 2022. They’re going to absorb a sizable dead cap hit even if they trade Rodgers, but they certainly cannot keep him given the financial constraints that would go along with it.

Rodgers offered a surprisingly candid explanation this week for his issues with the Packers, which you can read here. It’s clear nothing has really been resolved, which is why anything other than a divorce next offseason would be a shock.

This article first appeared on Larry Brown Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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