The Packers and running back Aaron Jones have agreed on a restructured deal to keep him at Green Bay next season, his agent confirmed to The Athletic. ESPN was the first to report on the new deal. Here’s what you need to know:
- The new agreement includes a reduced base salary of $11 million and a signing bonus of $8.52 million.
- According to Spotrac, Jones should be capped at $20 million next season, including a $8.1 million base salary and $7.4 million roster bonus.
- The 28-year-old rushed for a career-high 1,121 yards and had seven total touchdowns last season.
The Athletic’s instant analysis:
What does the move bring?
Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst said less than a week after the Packers’ 2022 season ended that the organization expects Jones to return in 2023, so this news comes as no particular surprise. The Packers rank bottom of the league in terms of cap spot, and Jones carried a cap number of more than $20 million in 2023, according to Over The Cap. As such, his contract likely had to be revised to allow the team to move forward with business this offseason.
Packers Cap analyst Ken Ingalls predicts a cap of $11.8 million with this move.
The move not only gives the Packers some financial flexibility, but also returns them their best offensive playmaker for his seventh season with the team.
“I control what I can control. I’d like to be here, so hopefully they feel the same way about me,” Jones said the day after the end of the season when asked about his contract situation.
“He’s a dynamic player,” Gutekunst said in January. “It’s amazing … For a man his size, to make it every day, he rarely misses a workout, rarely misses a rep. The way he runs this football team, his consistency is amazing. You can’t have just one in this league. Obviously, it’s nice to have that one-two punch with AJ (Dillon), but … when we got here you thought, “Hey, this probably won’t last long because of his build and his size.” and he just keeps defying the adversities.” — Schneidmann
backstory
Jones is coming off a season in which he grounded for a career-high 1,121 yards. In four seasons under head coach Matt LaFleur, Jones has averaged 1,027 rushing yards, nearly eight rushing touchdowns, more than 400 receiving yards and four touchdown catches per season. Jones also ranks eighth in NFL history at 5.1 yards per rush.
Including the 2023 season, Jones will have made $31 million since 2021, which ranks second among running backs behind only San Francisco’s Christian McCaffrey, according to ESPN.
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(Photo: Sam Navarro / USA Today)