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Regardless of what happens with Aaron Rodgers’s career as a New York Jet, he could still be in line to collect $75 million over the next two seasons.
Rodgers, the 39-year-old future hall-of-famer who joined the Jets in ballyhooed fashion during the offseason after a 17-year career with the Green Bay Packers, was taken off the field in his first game as a Jet on Monday night.
By Tuesday morning, it was confirmed that Rodgers had torn his Achilles tendon, based on an MRI, and would be out for the rest of the season, according to Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network and NFL.com.
A torn Achilles is indeed no small matter. The average length of recovery is in the 10- to 12-month range, the Pro Football Network site reported.
But others have noted that a torn Achilles might be a career-ender for Rodgers. A “severe injury … would raise questions about his future,” ABC News said.
News reports have indicated that Rodgers’s two-year $75 million contract with the Jets is “guaranteed.” That could mean the team owes him that money even if he never plays another game.
Still, the NFL states on its website that some contracts are not guaranteed in full. So, if Rodgers’s contract didn’t cover him for injury, the Jets could be off the hook if he doesn’t recover and return.
“Media outlets typically announce and talk about the ‘guaranteed money’ in a player’s contract. However, much of the money is only partially guaranteed,” the NFL has said.
But ESPN has reported that Rodgers’s $75 million contract is “fully guaranteed,” as have other outlets.
Another possibility: Either the Jets or Rodgers could have taken out an insurance policy to cover the $75 million contract. So either the team or Rodgers could recover any lost money in a worst-case scenario, should that materialize.
“NFL teams and players can purchase insurance for contracts they sign, in case of injuries for example, but they aren’t necessarily included with every contract,” the BetMGM sports-betting site explains.
Technically, Rodgers’s contract is worth $112.5 million over three years, with a possible extension for two additional years, according to the Pro Football Network site. The guaranteed portion — $75 million — covers the quarterback’s first two seasons as a Jet.
Rodgers took a pay cut to come to the Jets. If he had remained a Packer, he would have been in line to earn nearly $110 million through the remainder of his contract, before being traded by Green Bay in exchange for draft picks.
The New York Jets didn’t respond immediately to a MarketWatch request for comment about Rodgers’s medical situation and contract terms.
