The Green Bay Packers are moving on from Aaron Rodgers once and for all. The future Hall of Famer's relationship with the team took a nosedive in the following years for many reasons, leading to a trade that landed him with the New York Jets. One piece of the fracture came from a contract dispute with Davante Adams, Rodgers' star wide receiver.
When Rodgers caught wind of the contract offer that the Packers extended to Adams in the 2021 offseason, he was shocked to find out how low it was, according to Matt Schneidman of The Athletic. Adams wanted to be the highest-paid wideout but the offer he got was roughly $10 million short of that.
“They offered him less money than Christian Kirk ($18 million per year) and (Adams) is going, ‘Are you serious right now? I’m the best receiver in the league, and you’re gonna offer me less than Christian Kirk?” Rodgers said, via The Athletic. “With all due respect, he’s not on Davante’s level. I’m sure that the team will say that’s just the business of negotiation — it’s like, yeah, but you’re also sending a message to that guy, and a lot of times it can stick with guys and make them a little sour on things…By the time he got to the end of it, I think he kind of made up his mind he was gonna go somewhere else.”
That somewhere else ended up being the Las Vegas Raiders. Adams looked to team up with former college teammate Derek Carr and move back closer to home. He and Rodgers were very close and obviously had great chemistry on the field that the Packers couldn't replicate in Rodgers' final season with the team.
Obviously, Kirk is a good player and the Jacksonville Jaguars are happy that they paid him. But also, Adams is in the conversation of being one of the very best wide receivers in football. Those types of guys make over $25 million per year. The Raiders ended up giving him a deal worth $28 million per year, second only to Tyreek Hill.
While Adams deals with his own drama and rumored rift with the Raiders, Rodgers is trying to resurrect the Jets' offense.