On Aaron Rodgers New Contract Extension

I've been surfing around for today's inactives, and I just read all the great reporting by Adam Schefter at NFL.com regarding the new contract extension for QB Aaron Rodgers:

"Now that Aaron Rodgers‘ contract numbers have come in — a five-year extension that gives him six more years for $65 million, including $40.5 million in first three years of the contract — they can be compared.

And Rodgers’ contract now makes him, remarkably, the fourth highest paid quarterback in the game, behind only Peyton Manning, Carson Palmer and Ben Roethlisberger."

I didn't realize the numbers were that big. But a QB with a rating consistently over 100, 95.3 after the first eight games, plus he would have only been 26 years old when his rookie contract expired after 2009, he would expect a big free agent contract. As usual with GM Ted Thompson, although the numbers look big, he always puts a lot in base salary and less in guaranteed dollars, which is the opposite of most GMs, so he's willing to pay his players top dollar if they produce, but makes them shoulder some of the risk if they get hurt or ineffective. And, as usual, Thompson is smart by getting the extension done before November 1st:

"A website that team’s use for players contracts did not have any postings of the Rodgers’ contract until midday Tuesday. But once it was posted, the contract was dated Nov. 1, so Rodgers’ new six-year, $65 million contract beat the deadline and will save the Packers $2 million a year against the salary cap for the life of the deal that runs through 2014. Rodgers’ salary-cap number this season jumped from about $1.7 million this season to close to $14 million. In the next two years, Rodgers will make $21 million. Good move on the Packers’ part, getting the deal done and in now, bad move on our part not to wait for the day to close."