The NFL's five toughest contract extension talks of the summer

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It took a while for Jordan Love. No, we're not talking about the three seasons from 2020-22, when he mostly sat on the bench behind Aaron Rodgers, stewing in a special brand of frustration that is now apparently reserved for all Packers star-quarterbacks-in-waiting.

We're talking from Week 11 last season (Nov. 19) to the evening the Packers were eliminated from the playoffs on Jan. 20 when Love was – get ready to gasp – the NFL's best quarterback.

What else to call the guy who apparently "got it" after all those years on the bench and delivered 23 touchdowns and three interceptions in leading the Packers to the postseason, and a playoff win before being eliminated in the divisional round?

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That notable stretch did it for the Packers. It convinced them they have a budding franchise quarterback on their hands.

Jordan Love #10 of the Green Bay Packers celebrates after defeating the Dallas Cowboys during the NFC Wild Card playoff game at AT&T Stadium on January 14, 2024 in Dallas, Texas. (Cooper Neill/Getty Images)

And now they have to pay Love like it because he's in the final year of his contract and wanting an extension.

Negotiations between the sides are expected to reach a conclusion before the start of the regular season and probably even before that. The sides aren't really leaking information on the topic, which suggests all is on course.

(Trade secret: Leaks typically come when one party or the other is dissatisfied).

But being on course and being easy are two different matters. This Love contract negotiation isn't easy because while Love was, as you just read, arguably the