Aaron Rodgers.Photo:Al Bello/Getty
Al Bello/Getty
Aaron Rodgersended up at the very bottom of the NFL’s performance-based pay system.
The star quarterback, whosedebut season with the New York Jets endedjust minutes after it started thanks to an injury, raked in just $81.14 across all games, according to areportfrom ESPN’s Adam Schefter. He ranked dead last in earnings from the league’s system.
As Schefter phrased it on X (formerly Twitter), the pay system “rewards all NFL players based on their play time and base salary.”
“If a player has a low base salary but plays a significant number of snaps, he earns more through the system,” the reporter explained.
Rodgers, 40,signed a two-year, $75 million contract with the Jetslast July,NFL NetworkandESPNreported at the time, making his case a bit unusual — he has a high base salary but played just a handful of snaps during the 2023 season.
“With Rodgers having the opposite — a high salary and playing just 0.33% of snaps due to his torn Achilles — his total amount came to $81.14,” Schefter explained.
Aaron Rodgers.Ryan Kang/Getty
Ryan Kang/Getty
By comparison, another quarterback, the San Francisco 49ers’Brock Purdy, practically doubled his total pay through the system last season,CBS Sportsreported.
With a base salary of $870,000, Purdy, 24, is the league’s lowest-paid starting quarterback. But through the performance-based pay system, theSuper Bowl LVII runner-uptook home an extra $739,765.
Last season’s top performance-based earner was John Simpson, who played with the Baltimore Ravens last season but is now signed with the Jets, per CBS Sports.
The guard, who hit the field for 99 percent of Baltimore’s offensive snaps, ranked No. 1 with a total of $974,613.
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Shortly after, the Jets confirmed that the quarterback was placed on the injured reserve list, and Rodgersaddressed the injury himselfwith astatementon Instagram.
“Thank you to every person that has reached out, called, texted, DM’d, connected through a friend, etc.,” he wrote. “It has meant a ton to me, and I’ll try and get back to all of you soon 🥹❤️.”
With Rodgers out for the season, the Jets ended up finishing 7-10 and missed the playoffs for a 13th-consecutive year.
source: people.com
