Now that the first two rounds of the NFL Playoffs have passed, there are quite a few takeaways circulating that I’d like to touch on. The first one deals with Jordan Love. There’s an idea floating around that Green Bay’s playoff loss to Philadelphia is an indicator that he’s overrated. He certainly didn’t play great, but does a poor showing in one game mean the Packers have a problem at Quarterback? Is Jordan Love really overrated?
What Does OVERRATED Actually Mean???
To assess his “overratedness” we need some objective criteria to evaluate. Something that demonstrates if his regard, his standing, his rating is overblown. It strikes me that the best way to do this is to look at Love’s reputation in the media as well as review the apparent value his team applies to him.
- Is Jordan Love catching tons of headlines, becoming the new media darling?
- Is he demanding exorbitant contracts over other Quarterbacks across the league?
- Is his performance below par relative to expectations?
- Have his fans piled on heaps of praise and adulation?
Well… that last one’s true… but I think that could be said for most fanbases regarding their own Quarterbacks (with some exceptions, like Cleveland and The Raiders).
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So… What’s the News?
A review of online headlines that feature Jordan Love in the month of December (ahead of the playoffs), shows that he enjoyed a moderate amount of attention. Major Sports outlets like ESPN, FoxSports, CBSSports, Sports Illustrated, etc… featured Jordan Love about a dozen times. In contrast to real media darlings like Patrick Mahomes, Love was barely noticeable. There was plenty of hype from local Wisconsin media, like Fox11News (Green Bay affiliate), Wisconsin Sports Heroics, and Dairyland Express, but no one in national sports coverage seemed to be overcooking Jordan Love’s credentials.
Moreover, he hasn’t been awarded any media or league accolades, which would certainly be a sign of being overrated. In his two seasons as a starter, he hasn’t been to a Pro Bowl, has no All-Pro selections, and hasn’t appeared on any MVP ballots. There just doesn’t seem to be very much love for Love from the prognosticators. No overrating there…
What’s Jordan Love Worth?
I’ve been pretty vocal about the rampant over-valuing of Quarterbacks in the NFL. Jordan Love is no exception… however, to understand if he is “over-valued” and by extension overrated, we can assess his contract relative to his peers.
While he’s one of the 50 Million Dollar Men in the league, his total contract construction doesn’t speak to an overrated superstar. Breaking it down league-wide, he’s:
- 11th in Total Contract Value
- 10th in Total Guarantee
- 106th in 2025 Base Salary | 16th among Quarterbacks
- 143rd in 2025 Cash Value | 19th among Quarterbacks
The area in which he’s really being paid off is the signing bonus, which is $75,000,000. That’s the second highest among active contracts. That said… while I still claim that all Quarterbacks are over-valued and thus overpaid… I don’t see this contract structure as a representation of someone who is OVER-over-valued relative to his peers. From my view… no overrating here…
What’s Love Got to Do With It?
Now… what about his performance relative to expectations?
In short… its been great. In the two seasons he’s been the Green Bay Packer’s starting Quarterback, they’ve been to the playoffs both times.
- Jordan Love’s first ever playoff game was against the 2023 Dallas Cowboys who were the 5th ranked Defense at the time. Against that team, Love produced 272 Passing Yards, 3 Passing touchdowns, and a nearly perfect Passer Rating of 157.2.
- His second postseason outing was less postive, where he matched two touchdown passess with two interceptions. One of them led to a San Francisco field goal, which turned out to be part of the game winning points. The second interception killed a drive that would have given the Packers a chance to win or tie with a field goal.
- Finally, the playoff game this season… well… it wasn’t good. None of the three interceptions resulted in an Eagles score, but its clear that those big turnovers were momentum killers. With only 10 points of offense, the interceptions are pretty glaring in their impact.
All that said, I’m not ready to call him a playoff choker, since we’ve only seen two postseasons in all, and one of his performances was pretty fantastic.
On top of that, his regular season results should not be overlooked. This year his efficieny output was near the top of the league, with top stats in:
- Touchdown % = 6th
- Yards / Attempt = 4th
- Yards / Completion = 4th
- Passing Efficiency (Adj Net Yds / Att) = 5th
- QBR = 5th
So… good numbers… a winning record against the 4th toughest Strength of Schedule in the NFC… the 3rd best Margin of Victory… leading to the 2nd best Simple Rating System score… tells me… no overrating here either…
CONCLUSION
At this point, it’s too early in his career to judge his track record. He’s played exceptionally well in the regular season but had some highs & lows in the playoffs. His salary is pretty handsome, but levels-out in proportion to other truly overrated Quarterbacks. There isn’t much media hype, and he isn’t being awarded undue honors. He is incredibly talented, and it was clearly the correct decision to move on from Aaron Rogers after the 2022 season. Jordan Love has a pretty good outlook as a 26-year-old Quarterback, as does the Green Bay Packers as a franchise. As a Bears’ fan, this is pretty annoying, but I can’t help but conclude that Jordan Love is far from overrated… says me…😉