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Earlier this week, 39-year-old quarterback Aaron Rodgers — about to begin his first season with the New York Jets — restructured his contract. That move resulted in the Jets receiving a $33.7 million gratuity.
In response to Rodgers’ selfless move, head coach Robert Saleh praised Rodgers’ “sacrifice” and pointed to it as evidence of Rodgers’ desire to win with the organization.
“I think it says a lot when the best player on your football team — a Hall of Famer — is willing to sacrifice something because he wants to win, which is ultimately what we’re all here to do. This was Aaron. Aaron wanted to do this,” Saleh told reporters, according to ESPN.
Saleh wasn’t alone, though, as Jets players also had similar reactions to Rodgers’ willingly taking a pay cut.
“It shows he puts the team first,” safety Jordan Whitehead said. “He sees how good the team can be.”
“The message we’re getting is, he wants to win a Super Bowl,” tight end Tyler Conklin told ESPN.
Rodgers has previously signed a three-year, $150 million contract with the Green Bay Packers back in March of 2022.
Jets players certainly aren’t alone in thinking they can compete for a Super Bowl this season, as the all-important bookmakers also seem to agree.
Currently, with a little over a month until the official start of the 2023-24 campaign, the Jets have the seventh-best odds to win Super Bowl LVIII, trailing only the Kansas City Chiefs (who took home the Lombardi Trophy last year), Philadelphia Eagles (who won the NFC), Buffalo Bills, San Francisco 49ers, Cincinnati Bengals, and Dallas Cowboys.
Rodgers will play in his first-ever game for the New York Jets on September 11 in a Monday Night Football matchup against Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills, the Jets’ AFC East rivals who are one of the few teams in the league that are expected to be better than Gang Green.