Green Bay Packers running back Josh Jacobs — a Pro Bowler in his first year in Green Bay — ended up on Dan Graziano’s list of the top “team-friendly deals” entering the 2025 season. Jacobs signed a four-year, $48 million deal in free agency before the 2024 season, but the Packers only guaranteed his signing bonus, and Jacobs will make only around $8 million in 2025. He’s still a great bargain compared to the production he created in his first season and the production the Packers are expecting this year.
Who else qualifies as having a team-friendly contract for the Packers? Here are a few other picks:
CB Keisean Nixon: His three-year, $18 million deal has aged well. Now a starting cornerback and still an asset as a returner, Nixon has a team-friendly base salary of just over $1 million and a cap number of just under $7 million in 2025. He’s a big bargain considering his expected role and impact.
LB Isaiah Simmons: The Packers are giving Simmons — the former No. 8 overall pick — a real chance to revive his career in Jeff Hafley’s defense in 2025. The cost? A veteran minimum deal and under $200,000 in guaranteed money. Simmons won’t have to provide much value to outproduce his contract this season.
Several players on rookie contracts would qualify here, especially right tackle Zach Tom, but rookie deals are set by the league’s wage scale and can’t really be considered “team-friendly.” And in Tom’s case, a big extension is looming.
To be fair, most of the Packers’ best contracts are rookie deals. It’s increasingly difficult to find “team-friendly” veteran contracts, although the Packers do help themselves by typically only guaranteeing signing bonuses. This is inherently team-friendly, given the lowered percentage of guaranteed money and the options for getting out of deals if things go south.
This article originally appeared on Packers Wire: Josh Jacobs and the Packers’ other team-friendly contracts entering 2025
Reporting by Zach Kruse, Packers Wire / Packers Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
