Aaron Rodgers contract: Deal includes these six incentives that could be difficult for the Steelers QB to hit

The Pittsburgh Steelers got quite the bargain when they signed Aaron Rodgers to a one-year deal over the weekend. Rodgers will only be making $13.65 million in base salary this year, which includes just $10 million in fully guaranteed money. 

Rodgers can push the total value of the contract up to $19.5 million, but for that to happen, he’ll have to earn EVERY incentive in the deal. According to Sports Illustrated, the contract includes six incentives that will pay Rodgers a total of $5.85 million if he hits them all.

The most notable part of the contract is that Rodgers has to play at least 70% of the Steelers’ offensive snaps during the regular season to be eligible for the incentives. 

Here’s the full breakdown of what Rodgers can earn on top of his base salary: 

• $500,000: He’ll get this bonus if the Steelers make the playoffs
• $600,000: He’ll earn this money if the Steelers advance to the divisional round (This could be a wild-card win where he plays at least 50% of the offensive snaps OR a first-round bye)
• $750,000: He’ll earn this if the Steelers pick up a divisional round win as long as he plays at least 50% of the offensive snaps in the game
• $1 million: He’ll get a seven-figure check if the Steelers win the AFC Championship as long as he plays 50% of the offensive snaps in the game
• $1.5 million: If Rodgers leads the Steelers to a Super Bowl win, he’ll get a nice $1.5 million bonus as long as he plays at least 50% of the snaps in the game. 
• $1.5 million: Rodgers can also earn another $1.5 million for winning the AP MVP award

If Rodgers wants to earn the full $5.85 million, all he has to do is take home the MVP award while also winning the Super Bowl. If Rodgers were to pull that off, you can bet the Steelers would do their best to try and convince him to play another year. 

So what will Rodgers end up earning? Let’s make a quicky projection. 

Mike Tomlin has never had a losing record and the Steelers have been to the playoffs in four of the past five years, so a postseason berth seems pretty realistic. Rodgers will get a cool $500,000 if the Steelers earn a playoff berth with no bye, so we’ll say that’s what happens here. 

If Rodgers can pull off a win in the wild-card round, he’ll pick up another $600,000. Rodgers is 5-1 in his past six opening round playoff games, so he is not a guy you want to bet against in that spot. We’ll say he earns this incentive by leading the Steelers to their first divisional round playoff berth since 2017. 

If Rodgers wants to earn any money beyond that, he’ll have to get the Steelers to at least the AFC title game, which seems dicey at best in a conference that includes the Chiefs, Bills, Ravens and Bengals. The prediction here is that Rodgers earns $1.1 million of his incentives and ends up taking home a total of $14.75 million in 2025.