Green Bay Packers Have Steal with Josh Jacobs Contract

One of the biggest splashes of the 2024 NFL offseason was the Green Bay Packers signing running back Josh Jacobs. The former Las Vegas Raiders star landed what looks to be a very lucrative deal on the surface.

The two sides agreed to a four-year, $48 million contract. But, as Bill Barnwell of ESPN has pointed out, there was some wild salary cap maneuvering done by the team. It is a tactic every franchise uses, but what the Green Bay Packers did was bold even by NFL standards.

In the NBA and MLB, player contracts are almost always nearly guaranteed. That isn’t the case in the NFL, where contracts like the four-year, $48 million that Josh Jacobs signed for are always not what they appear.

As Barnwell shared, this is essentially a one-year, $13.2 million deal. In 2025, 2026 and 2027, all of the money is non-guaranteed. This is why the superlative he gave to the Packers for the 2024 offseason is the team with the most inflated contract leak of the offseason.

“By signing him to a four-year pact in which the final three years are unguaranteed, they’re essentially getting three unguaranteed options on the former first-round pick for 2025, 2026 and 2027. If he impresses in 2024, the Packers can re-up for one year and $8.2 million next year. If he’s solid again in 2025, GM Brian Gutekunst can get another season at $11.5 million. Jacobs and his representation might want to get a new deal as opposed to these year-to-year pacts if he impresses, but Green Bay would hold the leverage in getting those deals done,” wrote Barnwell.

Green Bay Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst has put the team in a great position when it comes to their backfield situation. As Barnwell notes, they have almost all of the leverage when it comes to negotiating with Josh Jacobs.

It is a tough spot for Josh Jacobs to be in, especially given how lackluster the running back market has been in recent years. If he plays well, they have non-guaranteed money in place they can pay him. If he plays poorly, they can move on from him with relative ease.

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