Jordan Love

Jordan Alexander Love (born November 2, 1998) is an American professional football quarterback for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL). Love, who was born and raised in Bakersfield, California, attended Liberty High School, where he began playing for the school's football team. After graduating high school, Love received an athletic scholarship from Utah State University to play college football for the Utah State Aggies. While with the Aggies, he was named to the second-team All-MWC in 2018 and was selected as the most valuable player of the 2018 New Mexico Bowl.

After announcing that he would forgo his senior year of college, Love was drafted by the Packers in the first round with the 26th pick of the 2020 NFL draft. He served as a backup to starter Aaron Rodgers for three years before being named the Green Bay's starting quarterback at the beginning of the 2023 NFL season. He has led the Packers to the playoffs his first three seasons as starter, including a playoff victory over the Dallas Cowboys in 2023. Love signed a four-year contract extension worth $220 million prior to the start of the 2024 NFL season.

Early life

Love was born in Bakersfield, California, on November 2, 1998. His father, Orbin Jr., was a police officer for the Bakersfield Police Department, while his mother Anna worked for the California Highway Patrol. Love is biracial as his mother is white and his father was Black. Jordan and his father were close, with Orbin Jr. coaching many of his son's sports teams. Orbin's mental health became abnormal, and he died by suicide when Jordan was 14 years old. Love contemplated quitting football, but his mother encouraged him to continue for another year to make sure he was not making a rash decision.

Love attended Liberty High School where he played on the football team. Initially small in stature, Love served as the backup quarterback for the freshman team. Midway through his junior year, he became the starting quarterback for the varsity team, a position he held for the rest of high school. As a senior, Love passed for 2,148 yards and 24 touchdowns and rushed for 806 yards with eight touchdowns. He led Liberty to the State semi-final that season. A two-star recruit, he committed to play college football for Utah State over Division I FCS offers from Eastern Washington, Northern Arizona, Northern Colorado, and Sacramento State. His only Division I FBS scholarship offer came from Utah State.

College career

Between his freshman year of high school and his first year of college, Love grew nine inches (23 cm) in height and gained 80 pounds (36 kg). He redshirted his first year at Utah State University in 2016. As a freshman in 2017, he played in 12 games and started the final six for the Aggies football team. He finished the season completing 129 of 235 passes for 1,631 yards, 8 touchdowns and 6 interceptions. Following his debut at UNLV, he was named the Mountain West Offensive Player of the Week.

As a sophomore in 2018, Love started all 13 games, completing 267 of 417 passes for a school season record 3,567 yards with 32 touchdowns and six interceptions. He was named the MVP of the 2018 New Mexico Bowl after passing for 359 yards and four touchdowns. His team finished the season with an 11–2 record and ranked No. 22 on the AP poll. Following his sophomore season, he was expected to be a future NFL first-round draft pick.

In 2019, Love returned to Utah State under a new head coach and offensive coordinator. Many teammates from his previous season had graduated, including four starters on the offensive line. Love again started all 13 games, completing 293 of 473 passes for 3,402 yards with 20 touchdowns and a career-high 17 interceptions. His team slid to a 7–6 record with the changes to the roster and coaching staff. Following the end of the 2019 season, Love announced that he would forgo his senior year and enter the 2020 NFL draft. He completed his college career passing for 8,600 yards, throwing 60 touchdowns against 29 interceptions and rushing for an additional 403 yards and 9 touchdowns.

Professional career

2020 NFL draft

Love participated in the NFL Scouting Combine prior to the NFL draft. NFL.com graded him as the fifth best quarterback in the Combine and projected that he would eventually become a starting quarterback in the NFL. Analyst Lance Zierlein noted in his assessment of Love that "he has the arm to stick throws into tight windows but needs better eye discipline and anticipation to keep windows open. His size, mobility and arm talent combined with his 2018 flashes could be a winning hand that leads a team into the future or a siren's song of erratic play and unfulfilled potential". Love's measurements and performance at the Scouting Combine were praised and increased interest in him as a high draft pick.

After trading up with the Miami Dolphins, the Green Bay Packers drafted Love in the first round (26th pick) in the 2020 draft, making him the first player from a Group of Five conference to be chosen in that draft. The move shocked draft analysts and the news media, as the Packers already had an MVP quarterback in Aaron Rodgers. On July 1, 2020, Love signed his rookie four-year, fully guaranteed contract worth over $12.3 million with a signing bonus of over $6.5 million. It was the first time the 26th pick in the draft received a fully guaranteed contract since the rookie pay scale was changed.

Backup years: 2020–2022

At the beginning of the 2020 NFL season, the Packers listed Love as the third quarterback on the depth chart, behind Rodgers and third year quarterback Tim Boyle. Love was inactive for every game of the 2020 season, both regular season and the postseason. The Packers finished the 2020 season 13–3, earning the number one seed in the NFC. They went on to lose to the eventual Super Bowl champions Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the NFC Championship Game.

With Boyle signing a contract with the Detroit Lions, the Packers made Love their second-string quarterback behind Rodgers to start the 2021 NFL season. After playing twice in the preseason, Love made his NFL regular season debut in the fourth quarter of a 38–3 loss to the New Orleans Saints on September 12, 2021, in relief of Rodgers. He completed six of eight passes but also lost a fumble. Love made his first NFL start on November 7, 2021, against the Kansas City Chiefs, replacing Rodgers, who had tested positive for COVID-19 four days earlier and was ineligible to play. Love completed 19 of 34 passes for 190 yards, threw one interception, and completed his first NFL touchdown pass to Allen Lazard during a 13–7 loss. With the Packers already securing their spot in the playoffs, Love relieved Rodgers in the second half of the last game of the year against the Lions, where he completed 10 of 17 passes for 134 yards and a touchdown, and ran for a two-point conversion, but also threw two late interceptions as the Packers lost 37–30. The Packers finished the season 13–4, losing to the San Francisco 49ers in the Divisional Round of the playoffs.

Love was again the second-string quarterback behind Rodgers for the 2022 NFL season. He saw limited action in two early season losses and one late season victory. During another late season game against the Philadelphia Eagles, Love replaced an injured Rodgers, completing six of nine passes for 113 yards, with a long touchdown pass to Christian Watson to bring the Packers within one touchdown of tying the game. Love finished the game with a 146.8 passer rating but was unable to complete the comeback, with the Packers losing 40–33. The Packers finished the year 8–9, missing the playoffs for the first time in four seasons.

Initial starting years: 2023–present

During the offseason, there was much speculation from the national media that Rodgers would retire or be traded. After Rodgers announced his intention to play in the 2023 NFL season for the New York Jets, the Packers completed a trade sending Rodgers to New York for draft picks. In doing so, the Packers also named Love the starting quarterback for the 2023 season. In lieu of exercising his fifth-year option, Love signed an incentive-laden one-year contract extension worth up to $22.5 million, covering the 2024 season.