Jordan Love proved the Green Bay Packers right with a breakout season in 2023.
Now, after signing a lucrative contract extension, the quarterback will have to do it all over again. That starts Friday when the Packers take on the Eagles on Friday in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Green Bay selected Love in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft with the No. 26 pick, a controversial move at the time considering the Packers were coming off a 13-3 season and Aaron Rodgers was still the quarterback.
Rodgers was traded to the Jets before the start of the 2023 season, and Love led the Packers to a 9-8 record and a run to the NFC divisional playoffs. That led to a new contract in the offseason, setting up the future of the quarterback position in Green Bay for years to come.
That is, if Love can live up to those high standards.
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Jordan Love contract details
On July 26, the Packers signed Love, 25, to a four-year contract extension worth $220 million that will keep him in Green Bay through the 2028 season. The Packers previously declined Love's fifth year option, and he would have been a free agent in 2024.
Love is making $55 million per season, which is tied for the most in the NFL with Cincinnati's Joe Burrow and Jacksonville's Trevor Lawrence.
The difference, of course, is Burrow and Lawrence were No. 1 picks in the NFL Draft. Burrow led the Bengals to an appearance in Super Bowl 56. Lawrence led the Jaguars to the AFC divisional playoffs in his second year as a starter in 2022.
Love was the third-string quarterback in Green Bay in 2020 and the backup behind Rodgers in 2021-22. He received that monster extension after one season, so there are risks moving forward.
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Jordan Love stats
Love has 18 career starts in the NFL, and he passed for 4,159 yards, 32 TDs and 11 interceptions in 2023 – a season in which there were ups-and-downs in his first season as a starter.
The Packers were 2-5 at the end of October, and Love averaged 213.1 yards per game with a 57.7% completion percentage, 11 TDs and eight interceptions.
Love, however, improved dramatically in Green Bay's last 10 games – in which the Packers were 7-3. He averaged 266.7 yards per game with a 67.1% completion percentage, 21 TDs and three interceptions.
Love grew with a young core of receivers and tight ends – with six players that had 350 yards or more in Jayden Reed (793 yards), Romeo Doubs (674 yards), Dontayvion Wicks (581 yards), Christian Watson (422 yards), Tucker Kraft (355 yards) and Luke Musgrave (352 yards). The Packers might be setting a trend with spreading out the targets without a true WR1 – but that philosophy will need to work in 2024 for that to happen.
Jordan Love career statistics
| Year | G/GS | COMP | ATT | % | YARDS | TDS | INTS |
| 2021 | 6/1 | 36 | 62 | 58.1% | 411 | 2 | 3 |
| 2022 | 4/0 | 14 | 21 | 66.7% | 195 | 1 | 0 |
| 2023 | 17/17 | 372 | 579 | 64.2% | 4,159 | 32 | 11 |
| TOTALS | 27/18 | 422 | 662 | 63.70% | 4.765 | 35 | 14 |
Jordan Love playoff record
Love is 1-1 in the playoffs. He made the most of his playoff debut in the NFC Wild Card round against Dallas. Love finished 16 of 21 for 272 yards and three TDs and helped the Packers build a 27-7 half-time lead in a 48-32 victory.
Jordan Love just completely out matched the Cowboys with that audible, put on a dime, and have the Packers up 20.
— Thomas R. Petersen (@thomasrp93) January 14, 2024
He's so damn good.pic.twitter.com/TT5oInIUaz
The Packers advanced to the NFC divisional playoffs, and Love was 21 of 34 for 194 yards, 2 TDs and two interceptions in a 24-21 loss to the 49ers. Love threw an interception on Green Bay's final possession.
There still remains optimism that Love is the long-term answer – much like Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers – in Green Bay. Favre was 13-11 in the playoffs – with a 12-10 record in Green Bay and a victory in Super Bowl 31. Rodgers was 11-10 in Green Bay with a victory in Super Bowl 45.
MORE: Inside Jordan Love's four-year, $220 million contract
When will Jordan Love play against Aaron Rodgers?
Another layer this season will be the return of Rodgers, who missed last season after suffering an Achilles tendon injury in Week 1 against Buffalo.
Rodgers was a four-time MVP with the Packers who led the franchise to a victory in Super Bowl 45 against the Steelers in Super Bowl 45. Green Bay never returned, however, and the inability to break through despite four more NFC championship appearances became a source of tension between Rodgers and the organization. That would ultimately lead to Green Bay general manager Brian Gutekunst drafting Love in 2020 and trading Rodgers in 2023.
Expect Love and Rodgers to be compared for their production throughout the season, especially if the Packers and Jets make playoff runs. While the teams won't play 2024, it is possible the teams play in 2025 depending on which AFC East opponent the Packers draw for their 17th game. Green Bay and New York have a game scheduled for the 2026 season.
