Jordan Love gets candid on contract extension as Packers QB attends OTAs without new deal

Jordan Love has one of the strangest contract situations in the NFL. As a 2020 first-round draft pick, he was entitled to a fifth-year option in 2023. However, the Green Bay Packers declined to invoke it as he succeeded Aaron Rodgers as their starter.

Instead, they went with something richer: a one-year extension laden with incentives. Surprisingly, he more than lived up to that contract, taking the team to the Divisional Round. But now the contract year has arrived, and he still has no big-money extension on the table. Still, speaking after OTAs on Tuesday, Jordan Love said he was not bothered:

“(Attending OTA's is) just something that I’ve always done, trying to be here, get the reps in, get the work in with the guys and just start building that chemistry and getting ready for the season. I don’t really know what’s going on, but we’ll see. But I’m not gonna get into too much contract stuff.”

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Packers writer says team holding out on Jordan Love deal is a positive

One of the Packers' divisional rivals, the Detroit Lions, recently gave Jared Goff a monstrous four-year, $212-million extension - the second-biggest by annual average in the league. Thus, it stands to reason that Jordan Love should receive the same treatment.

But according to Adam Schefter, time is essential in getting an extension finalized - and as far as he is aware, there has not been much progress. He said last week on ESPN 94.5's Jen, Gabe, and Chewy Show:

“It’ll be up to Russ Ball to see if he can get this deal done. I don’t think they’re anything close to getting it done right now... The longer the Packers wait, the more difficult it will be for them and the better it will be for Jordan Love."

But Matt Hendershott, a writer for Zone Coverage, opined afterward that Green Bay fans need not worry about updates right away. He wrote:

"Both parties would love to get a deal done before training camp, but that’s still months away. The Packers and Love have plenty of time to come to accords. Deadlines spurn action, so even if we don’t hear any positive updates in the coming weeks, it doesn’t mean a contract won’t happen."

For instance, the Cincinnati Bengals announced Joe Burrow's record-breaking five-year, $275-million extension only on the very first day of the 2023-24 season. Players at other positions, like DeVante Parker (2019-20 with the Miami Dolphins) and Love's former teammate Jonathan Owens (2021-22 with the Houston Texans), have even received extensions in the middle of a season.