The Green Bay Packers found another franchise quarterback in Jordan Love, and on Friday they paid him like one with a new four-year contract extension.
Love's new deal not only cements him in as the Packers' quarterback of the present and future, it also makes him the highest-paid quarterback in NFL history.
It is a four-year, $220 million contract that includes a record $75 million signing bonus and $155 million in guaranteed salary. He gets all of that despite the fact he has only started one full season in the NFL.
It was anticipated that Love's new deal would be a monster of a contract when it was eventually signed, and it turned out to be exactly that.
It is a bold move because Love has only started 18 games in his career and only been the Packers' full-time starter for just one season. The good news is that he was outstanding in that one year, finishing with 4,159 yards passing, 32 touchdowns and only 11 interceptions. He also led the Packers to the playoffs and a playoff win over the Dallas Cowboys.
It is a small sampling of games, and it took Love until around the halfway point of the season to really start to hit his stride. When he did, however, he showed all of the talent, skills and traits that teams want in a franchise quarterback.
Assuming he continues to build on that and follows that trajectory his deal could end up being a fair deal for both Love and the team. It also continues the Packers' astonishing run of quarterback success going from Brett Favre, to Aaron Rodgers and now on to Love over the past 30-plus years without any break in between them. No team has been that fortunate with its quarterback legacy over the past three decades.
It also works out well for Love because he would be eligible for unrestricted free agency when he is only 30 years old, perhaps positioning him for another huge contract in the future.
Love's contract comes just a few hours after Miami Dolphins starting quarterback Tua Tagovailoa signed a four-year, $212 million contract extension earlier on Friday. Love's title as highest-paid quarterback in NFL history might also be very brief if Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott signs a new deal in the near future.
