Mark Murphy talks about Jordan Love’s contract and the state of the Packers

GREEN BAY, Wis. — Quarterbacks will be part of the first wave of players arriving at Green Bay Packers training camp on Wednesday. Will Jordan Love have a contract to sign?

“This is really Russ’ signature,” Packers President and CEO Mark Murphy said Tuesday of Russ Ball, the team’s executive vice president, director of football operations and contract negotiator.

Murphy spoke at length about the team’s rosy financial situation on Tuesday, and then we discussed football topics with Packer Central.

With the first practice of training camp scheduled for Monday, Love’s impending contract extension is becoming an increasingly pressing matter.

With the Packers finishing strong last season, the team will no doubt want to get the deal done to avoid off-field distractions and begin preparing for the 2024 season as soon as possible. With more than $200 million at stake, Love might be wise to not practice until the contract is signed and the bonus hits his bank account.

To make matters worse, the number of quarterback contracts is increasing rapidly.

Trevor Lawrence of the Jaguars, who wasn’t as good as Love in 2023received a contract extension worth $55 million per season, the highest in NFL history, matching that of Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow.

With a resume that includes half a season of special achievements, should Love become the highest-paid player in the NFL?

This question was undoubtedly raised during the negotiations. Will it make it more difficult to agree to a contract?

“No, I think Russ has handled all kinds of situations,” Murphy said. “I have a lot of confidence in Russ.”

When reminded that this was not the case in the past – and certainly not when Murphy was a player – Murphy ignored the response and deflected the ball to Ball, who is below Murphy in the team’s decision pyramid.

“This is actually more of a football issue,” he said.

Regardless of how reluctant the Packers are to open their coffers for a quarterback with a limited track record, it will happen.

As general manager Brian Gutekunst said, if you have a good quarterback – and Love at least appears to be a good quarterback – you pay him and make sure everything else works around his contract.

Love led the Packers to six wins last year with 18 touchdown passes in the final eight games of the regular season. At the midpoint of the season, Love was last in the NFL in interceptions and second to last in completion percentage. In the second half of the season, Love was No. 1 in interceptions and third in completion percentage.

And that was before they beat the Cowboys in the playoffs.

With a stunning series of games, the Packers may have accomplished the impossible and made the leap from Hall of Famer Brett Favre to future Hall of Famer Aaron Rodgers to Love.

“I think it’s a credit to the organization that we had the foresight to recruit him,” Murphy said. “There’s an old saying in the NFL: The best time to recruit a quarterback is when you don’t need one. And then you have to have the patience to not let someone play until they’re ready. Both Aaron and Jordan sat on the bench for three years.

“I think it really pays off to be able to sit there and watch for three years – Aaron watching Favre and Jordan watching Aaron.”

With Love and a young and potentially excellent group of pass catchers, the Packers are considered a legitimate Super Bowl contender.

Murphy didn’t plan on going this far, but he likes the direction Gutekunst’s team is headed, rebuilding it quickly after Rodgers went 8-9 in his final season.

“I don’t want to get the expectations too high, but it’s certainly a lot different than last year,” Murphy said of expectations. “I’m really happy with how well Brian and Matt (LaFleur) have worked together. I think Russ has been the key.”

“And the way the team came together, at the end of the season we played as well as anyone. But each year is its own story. I’m optimistic. I think we can have a very good team this year.”

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