Aaron Rodgers might not be much of an assistance to the Jets, but he could offer title pedigree.
A rumour about Aaron Rodgers’ ability to snag experienced peers in the same way that Tom Brady’s influence attracted Rob Gronkowski, Leonard Fournette, Antonio Brown, Julio Jones, and others to the Bucs over the previous three seasons is gaining momentum ahead of free agency.
By the following week, could the Jets, who would use the majority of their remaining salary-cap room to suit Rodgers’ modified contract, attract contenders looking for a deal?
A few NFL managers who were interviewed by The Post on Thursday concurred that Brady is not Rodgers, Florida is not New York, and the Jets’ route to the Super Bowl is not as obvious as it was for the Bucs when Brady supplanted interception-prone Jameis Winston as a free agent in 2020.
Despite being a fantastic quarterback, one insider noted that Rodgers “doesn’t have as many solid connections with other stars around the game as Brady did. Second, he has only won one Super Bowl compared to Brady’s seven, so if you start making concessions in your agreement for other things, it won’t be for the same degree of assurance that you will prevail.
The Jets and Aaron Rodgers wouldn’t have the same free agency prestige as the Bucs and Tom Brady did.
If everything else is equivalent, maybe the Jets are more attractive with Rodgers.”
Randall Cobb had to be re-acquired by the Packers due to Rodgers’ Rolodex, which is not the same as Brady getting Gronkowski to come out of retirement or gathering other Hall of Famers for a super team.
Linebackers Lavonte David and Bobby Wagner, defensive end Javon Hargrave, and safety Jordan Poyer are high-impact free agents who meet the description of stalwarts looking to grab onto a top quarterback, but none of them suit the Jets’ most pressing requirements. The best offensive tackles on the market might receive enormous deals elsewhere.
Tom Brady and a number of other well-known NFL free agents arrived in Tampa Bay.
A second insider added, “If a club does it the correct way, they can acquire a star for less, but it would have to be the perfect individual. You aren’t getting an elite free agency for a lot less. Veteran players, perhaps for a two-year span; the Jets are not in that situation.
There is no state income tax in Florida. A third source stated that it would be a different situation if you were moving to reside in New York or New Jersey and would fall into that tax category. “Free-agent decisions are never made in a vacuum: familiarity, pleasant weather, money, and the likelihood of winning are all things to talk about. It would be very appealing if you could compare all those apples-to-apples variables with Rodgers.
Brady, who won his seventh Super Bowl in that first season by defeating Rodgers in Green Bay, helped the Bucs break a 13-year postseason absence. The Jets have the greatest current losing streak in the NFL (12 years), but they would need to get through the AFC playoffs.
A fourth insider questioned, “Why are the Jets with Rodgers better than the Chiefs with Patrick Mahomes or the Bills with Josh Allen if I’m chatting with a customer about accepting less money to be in a win-now situation? “They shocked a lot of people last year and have excellent youthful players, but I don’t think the Jets are anywhere near a title squad once they get into the postseason,” the author said.
Following Brady’s example was possibly his most effective persuasive case for peers to be selfless. If Rogers receives the same salary after the Jets acquire draught picks for him, he cannot assert the same right.
A fifth source claimed that Brady “always accepted less than the entire market and was ready to be inventive on wage limit impacts”. “When you lead by example, it’s much simpler to urge prospective partners to do the same. That plea will be empty if you earn more than $50 million annually.
