Timothy Rapp@@TRappaRTFeatured Columnist IVJanuary 26, 2025
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Aaron Glenn, the new head coach of the New York Jets, is hoping to have clarity on Aaron Rodgers’ plans in the near future.
“Talked to Aaron Glenn this morning,” Jay Glazer of Fox Sports reported Sunday. “He said, ‘I plan to go meet with Aaron Rodgers and we’ll definitely come up with a decision much sooner than later. I don’t want to drag this out.'”
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There are a lot of moving parts in the Rodgers situation.
First and foremost—does Rodgers want to play in 2025? And if he does, will he want to return to the Jets? Does the team even want him back, or would it prefer to start fresh at the position yet again?
Ian Rapoport @RapSheetFrom @NFLGameDay: #Raiders new coach Pete Carroll and Russell Wilson have remained close, and Wilson is a strong option in Las Vegas; Plus, the conversations will now begin about whether Aaron Rodgers will be back with the #Jets and new coach Aaron Glenn. pic.twitter.com/7Qo1T0oPES
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Rodgers was solid if unspectacular in the 2025 season, throwing for 3,897 yards, 28 touchdowns and 11 interceptions while completing 63 percent of his passes and taking 40 sacks. In the short term, there probably aren’t many better options for the Jets, and going the route of cutting Rodgers and signing a player like former Jets quarterback Sam Darnold wouldn’t be feasible for two main reasons.
One, the Jets only currently have $19.6 million in cap space. Two, there are the complications of Rodgers’ current contract to consider.
As ESPN’s Rich Cimini reported in December, “If Rodgers doesn’t play for the Jets in 2025—if he’s cut or retires—the Jets have a $49 million ‘dead’ charge, which is an accumulation of pro-rated bonuses from past years. That’s a substantial cap hit, more than double his cap charge if he’s on the roster ($23.5 million).”
Now, that could be spread out over two years if he’s a post-June 1 cut, resulting in a dead cap hit of $14 million next season and $35 million in 2026.
If he’s retained for the 2025 season, however, the cap implications are even more grim.
As Cimini noted, “While the cap charge ($23.5 million) would be manageable, they’d have to pay him a $35 million option bonus by the first regular-season game in addition to a $2.5 million base salary. … If he does come back for one year, the dead charge balloons to $63 million in 2026. The reason for the increase is the option bonus, which would be pro-rated for cap purposes over the length of the contract (the void years) and then accelerate into 2026 upon his departure.”
One option would be to renegotiate the terms of that bonus—though that would only kick the can down the line, potentially saddling the Jets with the bill for even more years to come—or ask Rodgers to take a pay cut, which Rodgers would likely meet with a scoff and a quick “no thanks.”
For now, Glenn wants clarity on Rodgers’ future, which makes sense as he prepares for his first year as the head coach. But the Jets also have some interesting problems to solve when figuring out a long-term plan at the position.
So incredibly