Green Bay Packers & Aaron Jones Agree to a New Deal

Well, as the old saying goes, where there is smoke, there is fire. And for over a year now, there has been a lot of smoke around the Green Bay Packers and Aaron Jones.

The two have been in talks about a contract extension since last year’s Combine, but a deal still seemed unlikely. Jones turned down an offer in December that would have made him one of the five highest-paid running backs in terms of average annual value because it lacked guaranteed money.

More recently, Ian Rapoport reported that Green Bay was around the $9 million per year mark while many thought Jones could land $12 million or more per year on the open market.

Yet through all of that, reports by Adam Schefter, Jeremy Fowler, and Dan Graziano of ESPN said that the Green Bay Packers were still trying to get Jones signed to a new deal before free agency began—and they just did.

According to Schefter, this is a four-year deal worth $48 million and comes with a signing bonus of $13 million. Jones’ agent, Drew Rosenhaus, stated that Jones could have gotten more elsewhere, but he really wanted to stay in Green Bay.

In today’s NFL, paying running backs top-dollar is often frowned upon, but what can’t be denied is how important Jones is to this Green Bay Packers offense.

With his ability as a ball carrier, a pass catcher, and to be moved around, he is tailor-made for the Matt LaFleur offense and helps them achieve that illusion of complexity that LaFleur desires.

Over the last two years, Jones has totaled just under 2,200 rushing yards, another 800 through the air, and 30 total touchdowns.

In another article I wrote on Sunday, I said that if a deal was going to get done, either the Packers or Jones were going to have to change their demands, and by the looks of it, Green Bay increased their offer a fair amount.

Before this move, the Packers were right around the salary cap after making several financial moves in recent days. We still don’t know the full details of Jones’ deal, but I imagine that it will come with a lower cap hit in 2021.

Brian Gutekunst said for the right player, the Green Bay Packers could make a big signing; well, here is that player and that signing, everyone.

Update: Per Matt Lombardo, Jones’ deal is actually closer to $9.5 million per year with incentives that could earn him $12 million. So as Drew Rosenhaus said, Jones left some money on the table to stay in Green Bay.