Aaron Jones & Packers Have Mutual Loyalty with Reworked Deal

Despite rumors swirling over his future in Green Bay possibly coming to an end, El Paso's own Aaron Jones will remain with the Packers thanks to a restructured deal.

Jones is set to make $11 million in 2023 in base salary, with an $8.52 million signing bonus as part of a $5 million salary cut, as reported by Rob Demovsky of ESPN. Jones was previously thought to make $20.013 million under his prior deal. However, swapping the roster bonus with the signing bonus and lowering his base salary allowed for flexibility with the Packers.

To local fans that watched Jones tear up the field at the high school level for Burges, or those that watched him play out his entire college career at UTEP, Jones' loyalty to the Packers shouldn't be surprising. "Showtyme" has been loyal to the city of El Paso since his family moved to the Sun City when he was a child. Similarly, Jones has been loyal to the Green Bay community since he was drafted there in 2017.

Following the 2020 season, some speculated that the Packers could move on from Jones. Negotiations over a contract extension stalled prior to 2020. Then, Jones fired his previous agent and hired Drew Rosenhaus with the goal in mind to get an extension from the Packers.

Green Bay showed its loyalty to Jones with a four-year, $48 million deal in the 2021 offseason. Fast forward two years into the deal, it is evident that the initial contract would have to be restructured if the Packers wanted to keep AJ beyond the 2022 season.

Per Demovsky, Jones will have made $3`1 million since 2021, which is the most for a running back behind only Christian McCaffrey.

Now Jones, who is 28 years old, will have two years left on his deal. He's coming off another highly productive year in which he rushed for his third 1,000-yard season since 2019 (1,121 yards).

This is a win-win for Jones when it comes to the makeup of the Packers roster. If they keep quarterback Aaron Rodgers, Jones can continue to be productive in the offense as a pass-catching back or a reliable every-down back. If Green Bay and Rodgers split up, Jones will be a veteran leader in the offense that could introduce young quarterback Jordan Love to the mix.