Former Packers tight end Marcedes Lewis says it's time for Jordan Love to be paid

Jordan Love did not want to talk about contract negotiations or a likely extension during the team's offseason program this spring.

But until he signs a new contract with the Green Bay Packers everyone else will talk about it for him.

One is a former teammate who knows a thing or two about how the NFL works.

In response to a recent discussion about Love's contract between the panelists on ESPN's "NFL Live," tight end Marcedes Lewis, who played with Love for three seasons, made his point succinct.

"Pay that man," Lewis, now in Chicago, tweeted.

But should Love set the bar for the quarterback market after one full season as the starter with 18 total regular season starts and two playoff games on his résumé?

ESPN NFL analyst Louis Riddick, who worked for years in NFL front offices, said contracts aren't about what a player did but what they can do.

"Contracts are supposed to represent future performance protection," Riddick said. "You don't pay guys after they wind up putting 10 years together. With these quarterbacks, the price (will just) go up as the salary cap goes up, as the revenues go up."

That's why Riddick says the Packers should lock Love down.

"Go ahead, get it down now because he is the future," Riddick added.

Jordan Love contract

Love, 26, is under contract with the Packers through the 2024 season.

He signed a one-year extension last year worth $22.5 million instead of a fifth-year option on his rookie contract.

Now, after showing he can be the Packers' long-term answer at quarterback, Love is in line to be one of the highest paid players in the NFL likely in the $50 million-$55 million/year range if other recent contracts are any indication.

Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff (four-year, $212 million) and Jacksonville Jaguars QB Trevor Lawrence (five-year, $275 million) signed extensions this offseason.

"If I'm Jordan Love (I'm saying in negotiations) I was better than Trevor Lawrence," Riddick said. "I was better than Jared Goff."

Will that extension come before the start of the season?

Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst said during the NFL owners meetings in March that there was already a "preliminary discussion" with Love's agent on an extension.

Marcedes Lewis NFL career

Love was teammates with Lewis for three seasons (2020, 2021 and 2022). Love was Aaron Rodgers' backup in those years.

Lewis signed with the rival Bears last year and rejoined Chicago for his 19th season in 2024.

He played his first 12 years of his career with the Jaguars before joining the Packers in 2018. He played in 81 regular season games in Green Bay across five seasons.

Lewis was active for all 17 games for the Bears in 2023 but wasn't used much in the passing game (four receptions for 29 yards and zero touchdowns).

Packers 2024 training camp schedule

New contract or not, Love begins his second training camp as the starting quarterback later this month.

Love and the veterans will report to camp on July 21 with the first practice set for 10:30 a.m. July 22 at Ray Nitschke Field.

Sixteen practices are open to the public. Family Night is set for 7 p.m. Aug. 3 inside Lambeau Field.

Here's more on the Packers' training camp schedule.

Packers 2024 schedule

Love and the Packers begin their season in South America in a Friday night game against the Philadelphia Eagles in Sau Paulo, Brazil, on Sept. 6. Home games in bold.

• Sept. 6, 7:15 p.m., at Philadelphia Eagles, Sau Paulo, Brazil

• Sept. 15, noon, vs. Indianapolis Colts

• Sept. 22, noon, at Tennessee Titans

• Sept. 29, noon, vs. Minnesota Vikings

• Oct. 6, 3:25 p.m., at. Los Angeles Rams

• Oct. 13, noon, vs. Arizona Cardinals

• Oct. 20, noon, vs. Houston Texans

• Oct. 27, noon, at Jacksonville Jaguars

• Nov. 3, 3:25 p.m., vs. Detroit Lions

• Nov. 10, Bye week

• Nov. 17, noon, at Chicago Bears

• Nov. 24, 3:25 p.m., vs. San Francisco 49ers

• Nov. 28, 7:20 p.m., vs. Miami Dolphins (Thanksgiving)

• Dec. 5, 7:15 p.m., at Detroit Lions, Detroit (Thursday Night Football)

• Dec. 15, 7:20 p.m., at Seattle Seahawks, Seattle (Sunday Night Football)

• Dec. 23, 7:15 p.m., vs. New Orleans Saints (Monday Night Football)

• Dec. 29, noon, at Minnesota Vikings

• Jan. 4-5, vs. Chicago Bears, Lambeau Field, date and time to be determined

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Marcedes Lewis chimes in on Packers quarterback Jordan Love's contract