Jordan Love spent two seasons as the Green Bay Packers’ backup quarterback after being selected with the No. 26 pick of the 2020 NFL Draft. Despite this, it took just one year as the starter for him to earn a massive contract extension. The Packers rewarded him with a four-year, $220 million deal on July 26, 2024.
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Love has the second-largest average annual contract value ($55 million) in NFL history. Only Dak Prescott ($60 million) tops him; three players — Joe Burrow, Trevor Lawrence, and Josh Allen — have matched him. If you looked purely at Love’s 2025 earnings, though, you’d never know his pay status.
Due to his contract’s structure, Love will make roughly $13 million this season. His full payday is composed of three aspects: his base salary ($11.9 million), a roster bonus (approximately $529K) and a workout bonus ($500K). Overall, he’s netting $42 million in 2025 less than his pact suggests.
If you were slated to make $55 million and were only receiving $13 million, you’d probably be pretty upset. You’d expect Love to be as well under the same circumstances. However, Love has no hard feelings with Green Bay. He got $75 million upon signing his contract. That’s roughly one-third of the contract’s total value.
Both the Packers and Love gain from Love’s contract structure, which includes three void years. Love, as mentioned, gets a large chunk of his money up front. In return, Green Bay gets to spread Love’s cap hits across a wider time span. This season, his cap hit is just under $30 million. That number rises to $36 million next season and $42 million in 2027.
While Love’s cap hit increases, the cash he’ll see actually decreases. He’ll pocket only $11.5 million in 2026 and 2027. His payday takes a massive leap in 2028, though, all the way to $45 million. In the process, his cap hit will skyrocket to $74.2 million.
Even with the league’s salary cap reaching a new record high seemingly every offseason, $74.2 million is a hefty cap hit to keep on the books. That sets the stage for the Packers to either extend Love before then or cut him. If they were to release him in the 2028 offseason, Green Bay would save $59.2 million against the salary cap.
Love playing at a high level for another decade-plus wouldn’t surprise a soul. He’s a 26-year-old signal-caller on the brink of his physical prime. It’s always possible that circumstances change, leading to a parting of ways. But for the moment, the Love-Packers relationship is on solid ground. And with any luck, there will be a ring in its future.
