Latest NFL contract extension shows why the Packers’ strategy works and makes their Pro Bowler’s deal shine in hindsight
Josh Jacobs signed a four-year deal last offseason
Josh Jacobs was better than James Cook in yards after contact per attempt (3.45 vs 3.26) and yards per route run (1.36 vs 1.15). In general, Jacobs is more productive, more reliable, and can be on the field on three downs. There’s little question that the Green Bay Packers’ running back is better than the Buffalo Bills’.
On Wednesday, Cook agreed to the exact same contract Jacobs got from the Packers a year ago in terms of average per season. Both signed a four-year, $48 million deal. Yes, Jacobs got a higher percentage of the salary cap at the time considering inflation, but this is not about total value. The structure is the big difference here.
Structure model
Outside of quarterbacks, the Packers have a well-established contract model. The entire guarantee is the signing bonus, so there aren’t full cash guarantees beyond the first year of the deal. Sometimes, that model makes it harder for Green Bay to attract top free agents. But when they are able to sign players, the team has a lot of control and flexibility.
With Jacobs, the Packers agreed to pay $48 million through four years, but just $12.5 million were guaranteed. Now that the first year of the deal is over, the Packers effectively have three team options—$8.2 million in 2025, $11.5 million in 2026, $13.5 million in 2027.
Jacobs has been great, so Green Bay will move forward with the running back. But the flexibility is there if needed. Meanwhile, the Philadelphia Eagles gave Saquon Barkley a three-year, $39 million deal. Looking at the yearly average, this was great. And yes, Barkley is an elite player who helped them win the Super Bowl, so it’s worthy. But there were two years in guarantees on a three-year contract, and the Eagles were already forced to reach an extension making him the highest-paid running back in football. That would never happen on a contract structured by Green Bay’s model.
The Bills have an advantage because Cook already had a year left on his rookie deal. So it will effectively be a five-year, $49.5 million contract ($9.9 million on yearly average). But Jacobs was a free agent, so it’s just fair to evaluate the new money to create a comparison. Overall, Cook received $30 million in guarantees, almost three times as much as Jacobs. It’s the second-highest number in guarantees among running backs, just behind Saquon Barkley, even though it’s tied for sixth on yearly average.
How the Packers do it
Under executive vice president and director of football operations Russ Ball, the Packers have a defined model to give out contracts, both in free agency and for internal extensions. It’s a big signing bonus paid at the moment of the signing, and that’s the only guarantee. The Year 1 base salary is close to the veteran minimum, keeping the cap hit lower.
Usually, the player will have a low base salary and a roster bonus in March in Year 2, which allows the Packers to keep a low cap hit in the second season, and some level of security for the player as well—because he receives early an extra guarantee that was not fully guaranteed at signing.
Then, the player gets higher base salaries in Years 3 and 4, always with workout bonuses throughout the contract tied to voluntary offseason attendance.
Last year, Josh Jacobs made $14.8 million, with only $5.307 million hitting the cap. This year, he received a $5.93 million roster bonus on the fifth day of league year in March, and a total $8.2 million in cash throughout the season, with an $11.325 million cap hit.
The only negative part of the Packers’ usual structure is that if the team decides to cut a player, the dead money may be real—because signing bonuses hit the cap no matter what, since they’ve already been paid. The Packers felt that, for example, when they had to release Za’Darius Smith.
But the guarantees are lower for the Packers than they tend to be around the league, and it gives the team the ability to make safer and smarter decisions year after year.
James Cook’s extension just shows how Josh Jacobs’ deal was great, and how the Packers will benefit from it over the course of the contract’s timeframe.
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