Aaron Rodgers Opens Up About How Packers Handled Davante Adams Contract Negotiations
Was this the first domino that led to Davante Adams eventually leaving Green Bay?
In the vast amount of information disclosed in Matt Schneidman’s article regarding Aaron Rodgers yesterday, there was one story that Rodgers shared that stood out on the Packers handling of Davante Adams contract negotiations.
In the 2021 off-season Davante Adams had just come out of a season in 2020 where he set a franchise record with 115 catches and tyed another record with 18 touchdown receptions. At the time, DeAndre Hopkins was the highest paid receiver in the NFL at around $27 million and Davante felt that he was playing at that top tier receiver level.
According to Aaron Rodgers the Packers initially low balled Davante Adams.
Here's the excerpt from Matt Schneidman’s article that goes into detail on what happened.
“On a recent appearance on the “I Am Athlete” podcast, Adams said the initial offer from Green Bay, which the Packers made before the 2021 season, was less than $20 million annually.
“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. “With all due respect, he’s not on Davante’s level.” (Matt Schneidman)
Rodgers went on.
“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. … That goes back to the first offer that they made, and I don’t think (the Packers) had the foresight — obviously didn’t have the foresight.”
One thing that is slightly confusing about Rodgers comment is the fact that Christian Kirk didn’t get his $18 million dollar per year contract till March of 2022. In July of 2021 he was still playing on his rookie contract. There’s no way that in 2021 he was offered less than Kirk who at the time was making $2.4 million that year.
The only thing that could make sense is the possibility that the Packers initial offer to Davante Adams in 2021 ended up being less than Christian Kirk ended up getting in March of 2022, which was $18 million per year.
Regardless of how that all lined up Davante seemed to be upset with the Packers initial offer of less than $20 million.
Taking a trip down memory lane to the summer of 2021 there were three other receivers not named DeAndre Hopkins making $20 million per year: Amari Cooper ($20 mil), Julio Jones ($22 mil), and Kenaan Allen ($20.05 mil).
If we look back to a quote from an article by Ryan Wood of Packers News in July of 2021 with the knowledge of Davante not being happy with the initial offer, it makes even more sense in hindsight.
“I’ve earned the right to be paid highest in the league. And if they don’t believe that or want to come to that agreement of trying to make me feel good about my contract ...”
Adams did not finish that thought, but it’s clear time is running out for the Packers to reach a deal with their superstar receiver. He said Wednesday that negotiations are in a “pretty tough spot” with the Packers.” (Ryan Wood)
Davante believed he was the best in the league and should be paid to reflect that. We know that the initial offer would have at least made him the 5th highest paid WR. There’s a chance he didn’t feel that the Packers were recognizing just how elite he really was.
I’d assume that most contract discussions in the NFL begin with the team making a lower offer than they will end up agreeing on. There has to be a fine line between going too low to the point that it frustrates a player and not going too high so that you can make the best deal for your team. It seems to be that in Davante Adams' opinion the initial offer was too low.
Before Davante was traded to the Raiders, there was a report from Ian Rapoport that the Packers in the end offered more money than the Raiders.
“Final thought (for now) on the Davante Adams trade: His agents Frank Bauer and Kenny Chapman confirm that the #Packers offered more money than the contract he’ll sign in Las Vegas.
Simply, it was his lifelong dream to be with the #Raiders.” (Ian Rapoport)
It wasn’t about the money for Davante. It was about respect. If it was solely about the money he would have stayed in Green Bay.
While there were other factors in Adams deciding to leave Green Bay from the uncertainty of Aaron Rodgers future to wanting to be closer to family and play with his college teammate in Derek Carr, it’s very possible that the initial offer from the Packers was the first domino to fall that eventually led to his decision to leave Green Bay.
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