Rodgers stays; Wilson is traded
Aaron Rodgers is planning to return to the Green Bay Packers for an 18th season, a move that keeps the reigning MVP off the trade market.
“YES, I will be playing with the Packers next year,” Rodgers said in a tweet.
NFL Network reported that the 38-year-old Rodgers had agreed to a four-year, $200 million contract that includes $153 million in guaranteed money.
Rodgers’ decision comes nearly a month after he won his second consecutive MVP award.
Other football
In one of the biggest trades in Seattle sports history, the Seahawks agreed to deal quarterback Russell Wilson to Denver for a mammoth haul of five draft picks and three players, including two firstround picks and quarterback Drew Lock.
•The Packers also are placing a franchise tag on Davante Adams to prevent the two-time All-Pro receiver from becoming an unrestricted free agent. If the Packers hadn’t tagged him or signed him to an extension, any team would have had the opportunity to sign Adams when the free agency period opens March 16.
• Tampa Bay’s Chris Godwin will be one of the NFL’s highest-paid wide receivers after the Buccaneers placed the franchise tag on him for the second consecutive year.
• The Dolphins placed the franchise tag on Mike Gesicki, ensuring that the tight end will be back for 2022 instead of hitting the free agent market.
• The NFL’s salary cap for 2022 will be $208.2 million, a healthy increase from the previous, pandemic-impacted years.
Colleges
Freshman Cameron Cash will make his NCAA championships debut in Atlanta later this month after he punched his ticket on day two of the NCAA Zone A divign championships in Annapolis, Md. Cash placed fourth in the men’s 1-meter competition. Junior Dylan Reed earned a spot in the men’s 1-meter finals, registering a final score of 656.65 to finish seventh. As a result Reed also qualified for Atlanta.
Soccer
Amid a shutdown of domestic soccer during the invasion by Russia, FIFA agreed to Ukraine’s request to postpone the national team’s World Cup qualifying playoff in Scotland in two weeks’ time. FIFA also awarded Poland a bye through its playoff semifinal against Russia that also was scheduled for March 24.