The New York Jets brought in Aaron Rodgers hoping he could take the team to a Super Bowl. The two sides are expected to part after failing to reach that goal in two seasons together.
The only question now is exactly how that will happen. Will the Jets’ new brain trust of head coach Aaron Glenn and general manager Darren Mougey try to find a willing trade partner to take on Rodgers’ services, or will they release him and allow him to traverse the free agent market on his own?
While getting compensation in return for Rodgers would be ideal, the Jets will also have to weigh the financial ramifications of trading him or releasing him without a post-June 1 designation.
Here’s what to know about Rodgers’ current contract and how much he could cost the Jets pending their method of departure.
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Aaron Rodgers contract details
Rodgers in entering the final year of a three-year restructured contract extension he signed with the Jets after being traded to New York in 2023. Below are the details of that contract, per Spotrac.com.
Term: 3 years
Total value: $112.5 million
Average annual value (AAV): $37.5 million
Guaranteed money: $75 million
Rodgers’ deal with the Jets was designed to give the team maximum flexibility to build a contender around him. That’s why his AAV of $37.5 million was tied for 16th among quarterbacks for the 2024 NFL season.
It’s also part of the reason Rodgers’ contract had four void years attached to it. Void years are an accounting mechanism used by NFL teams to defray the cap hit of a player by prorating it over a longer period. So, while Rodgers is only officially signed with the Jets through the 2025 NFL season, his deal won’t come off the books in full until 2029.
As a result, Rodgers’ cap hit will max out at just $23.5 million in 2025 after being just $8.9 million and $17.2 million in his first two seasons with the team. However, the Jets will also absorb future cap hits totaling $63 million even after Rodgers’ contract expires.
Below is a look at the cap hit Rodgers is set to carry in each of his four void years, per Spotrac.com:
2026: $21 million
2027: $21 million
2028: $14 million
2029: $7 million
How Aaron Rodgers trade, release would impact Jets
The structure of Rodgers’ contract will slightly complicate the Jets’ plans to move on from him ahead of the 2025 NFL season. New York would absorb a $49 million dead-cap hit if they part ways, which is much larger than the $23.5 million salary cap hit Rodgers is carrying.
As a result, the Jets may prefer to split the cost of Rodgers’ dead-cap hit over two seasons. The NFL allows teams to do that if they either designate a player as a post-June 1 release or wait until after that date to trade him.
It would be next to impossible for the Jets to wait to trade Rodgers until after June 1. By that point, the NFL’s quarterback carousel would already have largely stopped spinning, with all the major free agents and draft prospects landing with new organizations.
As such, the Jets would likely have to absorb the full $49 million dead-cap hit if they are able to find a suitor for Rodgers via trade. That would result in a net decrease of $25.5 million in cap space.
That said, if the Jets are more worried about saving cap space as they look to navigate Year 1 of a rebuild under Glenn and Mougey, they may prefer simply to release him.
New York could designate Rodgers as a post-June 1 release regardless of when they part with him. That would allow the quarterback to become a free agent immediately while also allowing the Jets to split his costs over two seasons after the June 1 deadline.
In that case, Rodgers would see his 2025 cap hit drop to $14 million, creating $9.5 million in cap space for the Jets. He would then carry a $35 million dead-cap hit for 2026, per Spotrac.com.
What happens if Aaron Rodgers retires?
If Rodgers decides to retire, he will no longer earn any base salary or roster bonuses owed to him by the Jets. However, any prorated portion of bonuses already paid to him will continue to count against New York’s salary cap.
Rodgers has just a $2.5 million base salary remaining for 2025, but he would also forfeit his $35 million option bonus due to him for this season. The Jets aren’t likely to exercise that option bonus anyway as they plan to part with Rodgers, so the net savings New York would earn from him retiring would be minimal.
Jets cap space 2025
The Jets are set to have just over $20.95 million in cap space for 2025, per OverTheCap.com. That ranks just 19th in the NFL entering the offseason.
New York is expected to open up extra cap space quickly by parting with receiver Davante Adams, so that will provide the Jets more flexibility as they examine their options with Rodgers.