I wasn't aware of the "bridge" contract. We're both partially right.Not exactly....he did sign a "bridge deal" for one year. After his 2nd starting season, he then played well enough to prove his value.
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Technically, this was a bridge contract and served the function of decreasing Green Bay's risk. After doing research, it appears they signed him to this contract in lieu of picking up his 5th year option. This contract lowered the guaranteed amount on his 5th year salary but paid him money up front and gave him the potential to make more with incentives. Win-win for both.
However, they still paid him the large contract after one season of starting. He signed an extension for $220 mil on 7/27/24, which was before he took one snap in his 5th season. And the bridge contract didn't give them an extra year to evaluate; it just replaced the optional 5th year.