In NFL terms, Aaron Rodgers playing for a maximum of not even $20 million is a cheap contract. In a world where the highest-paid quarterbacks are nearly touching $60 million per season, Rodgers is one of the cheapest veteran starters. There could be a cautionary tale of “get what you paid for” but the upside to his economical one-year deal is the ability for Pittsburgh to use that money elsewhere.
“The Steelers aren’t done building also,” Rapoport said Monday morning on The Pat McAfee Show morning. “This is sort of why you do it. You take a low salary and you say, ‘I’m not doing this for the money.’ And you kind of just hope the team loads up around you. I would also say I always kind of weirdly got the sense that Rodgers was uncomfortable making so much money.”
Rodgers can reportedly earn up to $19.5 million if he reaches all his incentives, details of which haven’t fully been released. Only $10 million of his deal is fully guaranteed. To put that in perspective, quarterbacks Geno Smith and Sam Darnold signed for well over $30 million per season while Justin Fields and even Daniel Jones have higher average yearly values (Rodgers will top Jones if he reaches all his incentives).
With cap space to make additional moves, it’s possible the Steelers give Rodgers more help. They’re in the market to add another offensive playmaker. So far, they’ve shown interest in WR Gabe Davis and tight ends Kyle Pitts and Jonnu Smith. Davis would be a cheap addition, but Pitts and Smith would make good money if acquired. Rodgers taking less than his likely true market value makes those potential moves plausible.
Rapoport also acknowledged a narrow market kept Rodgers’ price tag low.
“Not that many teams from what I got the sense of we’re in the mix,” he told the show.
Pittsburgh was the Rodgers frontrunner from the beginning. Only the Minnesota Vikings had a real chance to sign him aside from the Steelers, and they remained committed to former first-round pick JJ McCarthy throughout the entire process. Once the New York Giants pivoted away from Rodgers, Pittsburgh was in the driver’s seat.
While Rapoport’s commentary is accurate, Pittsburgh also wasn’t hard up for salary cap space like past seasons. As Dave Bryan has noted, if anything, the team needs to increase cash spending this year to avoid the obligation of spending it all next season to fulfill the NFL’s 90-percent rule. Rodgers could’ve played for $30 million this year and it wouldn’t have terribly changed the Steelers’ equation.
If anything, Rodgers’ relatively cheap contract proved he was true to his word when he told The Pat McAfee Show in April it wasn’t about the money. It was about the fit and Rodgers thinks he found the right place in Pittsburgh.
