Jordan Love‘s first season as a starter couldn’t have gone much better, but the former first-round pick only has a year remaining on his contract. Predictably, both Love and the Packers are interested in a long-term arrangement, and it sounds like both sides are motivated to complete a deal sooner than later.
[RELATED: Packers Begin Jordan Love Extension Talks]
During an appearance on 97.3 The Game in Milwaukee, Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst acknowledged that the two sides are aiming for speedy negotiations.
“We’re in those conversations right now,” Gutekunst said. “I think the nice part about this is none of these things are easy or fast, but both parties want the same thing. We’d like to get this thing done before training camp, for sure, and both parties want to get a contract extension done. I think that stability at that position really allows you to have some security with the way we build our team. We’re looking forward to getting that done, but it never goes fast.”
The Packers and Love have just under two months to complete a deal before their first scheduled training camp practice on July 22. Of course, there’s no technical deadline and no real urgency to get a deal done that soon. On the flip side, even if training camp is an artificial deadline, the two sides surely don’t want the impending free agent QB to enter the regular season with lame-duck status.
While Love doesn’t have an extended track record, his 2023 campaign may be enough to rocket him towards the top of the QB market. We heard last month that Love’s next contract could end up “in [Joe] Burrow territory,” which comes in at a league-leading $55MM average annual value. Four quarterbacks reset the market last offseason (Burrow, Justin Herbert, Lamar Jackson and Jalen Hurts), and Jared Goff recently joined them in the $50MM AAV club. Once the likes of Trevor Lawrence, Tua Tagovailoa, and Dak Prescott ink their next deals, Love’s expected contract will look a bit more natural.
Last offseason, the Packers ripped up Love’s fifth-year option and replaced it with a one-year contract that offers a higher ceiling (and lower floor). If the QB continues his play from 2023, that arrangement should work out in his favor. Love finished his first season as a starter with 32 touchdowns vs. 11 interceptions, and he helped guide the Packers to their first playoff win since 2020.