Aaron Rodgers Agrees to Return to Packers; New Contract Reportedly Being Discussed

Two-time defending NFL MVP Aaron Rodgers will return to the Green Bay Packers, as Pat McAfee revealed Tuesday on The Pat McAfee Show:

NFL Network's Ian Rapoport initially reportedly Rodgers' new deal is worth $200 million over four years and includes $153 million guaranteed. However, both McAfee and Matt Schneidman of The Athletic say the reported contract figures are not accurate.

Rodgers himself later denied a new contract had been agreed upon:

Of note, Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes holds the record for top average annual value, coming in at $45 million.

There was intense speculation about Rodgers' future in the aftermath of Green Bay's 13-10 loss to the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Divisional Round.

Rodgers fueled some of that talk with his comments during the postgame press conference.

"I did not think we'd be talking about this after this game," Rodgers said. "I'm going to take some time and have conversations with the folks around here and then take some time away and make a decision, obviously before free agency or anything kind of gets going on that front."

On Feb. 21, Rodgers posted a cryptic message on Instagram that included a thank-you note to several of his Packers teammates:

Another issue for the Packers was their cap situation as several key players, including Davante Adams, Rasul Douglas and Marquez Valdes-Scantling, were poised to become unrestricted free agents.

Per Over the Cap, the Packers were $40.1 million over the 2022 cap before trying to re-sign those players and make any roster changes in free agency.

This new contract ends a yearlong saga that began prior to the first round of the 2021 NFL draft. ESPN's Adam Schefter reported in April 2021 Rodgers had become "so disgruntled" with the Packers that he told some people in the organization he didn't want to return to the team.

Amid speculation that Rodgers might be traded before the start of last season, the Packers instead reworked his contract:

When Rodgers finally arrived at Packers training camp in July, he had a long press conference in which he opened up about some of his issues with the organization:

"Also, I wanted to help the organization maybe learn from some of the mistakes in the past, in my opinion, about the way some of the outgoing veterans were treated and just the fact that we didn't retain a number of players that I feel like were core players to our foundation, our locker room. High character guys, I'm talking about Charles Woodson, Jordy Nelson, Julius Peppers, Clay Matthews, Randall Cobb, James Jones, John Kuhn, Brett Goode, TJ Lang, Bryan Bulaga, Casey Heyward, Micah Hyde. Guys who were exceptional players for us, great locker room guys, high character guys, many of them whom weren't offered a contract at all or were extremely low-balled or were maybe, in my opinion, not given the respect on the way out that guys of their status and stature and high character deserve. And, then it kind of progressed from there into a commitment for the 2021 season and beyond, that really wasn't given at any time."

The Packers are still in prime position to compete for a championship, even with some potential cap issues. Their division is weak with the Detroit Lions and Chicago Bears still rebuilding and the Minnesota Vikings needing to figure out a direction after finishing 8-9 in 2021.

Green Bay was the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoffs for the second consecutive season. Rodgers won his fourth career NFL MVP award after throwing for 4,115 yards and 37 touchdowns in 16 starts.

The Packers have won 13 games in each of the past three seasons. They have made the playoffs 10 times in 12 seasons with Rodgers as their quarterback, including a victory in Super Bowl XLV in 2011.

Rodgers' return ensures the Packers will compete in a crowded NFC as they pursue a fourth straight division title in 2022.