Packers Sign Aaron Banks and Nate Hobbs to Overvalued Deals
The Green Bay Packers made significant moves in free agency, but their signings of Aaron Banks and Nate Hobbs have raised eyebrows due to the large contracts they received.
On Day 1 of NFL free agency, the Packers shocked many by signing Hobbs, a cornerback, to a four-year, $48 million deal with $16 million guaranteed. Pro Football Focus had projected Hobbs for a one-year, $4 million contract, and Spotrac had him pegged at about $2.85 million for a one-year deal. Instead, Hobbs ended up with $12 million per season, a deal that seems far higher than expected for a solid but injury-prone player who has been inconsistent in his performance.
The Packers also signed offensive lineman Aaron Banks to a four-year, $77 million contract, which comes out to $19.25 million per season. While PFF had Banks’ projection around four years for $65 million, Spotrac estimated a three-year deal worth about $29 million. For Banks, a second-round pick in 2021 who’s started 43 games over the past three seasons but has dealt with injuries, his new deal raises questions. He’s never played a full 17-game season, and while he’s solid, he’s not known for being a dominant blocker, having allowed 96 pressures and 19 penalties over the past three years.
For comparison, former Packers guard Jon Runyan, who was deemed too expensive to retain, gave up only 60 pressures and eight penalties in his final three seasons with Green Bay.
PFF commented that Banks’ new contract, making him the sixth-highest-paid guard in the league, is quite rich given his track record. As for Hobbs, despite being a starter in 38 of 51 games for the Raiders, he’s missed 16 games over the past three years and had a career-worst completion and forced incompletion rates in 2024. These factors make his $12 million annual salary seem steep.
Looking at contracts from last year’s free agency, these deals stand out. For example, safety Xavier McKinney, coming off a stellar season with the Giants, signed a four-year, $67 million deal with $23 million guaranteed, while Josh Jacobs, a former NFL rushing champion, got a four-year, $48 million contract. Banks and Hobbs’ contracts surpass these in terms of value, despite not being proven stars on the same level.
Despite these eye-popping numbers, Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst has a solid history in free agency, making smart investments when the team has had the cap space to do so. Past successful signings include Za’Darius Smith, Preston Smith, and Adrian Amos in 2019. However, this year’s free-agent class is seen as weaker, which likely led to inflated contract values as teams competed for a limited number of players.
“There’s not a ton of those guys,” Gutekunst said at the Scouting Combine, referring to top free agents. “This one doesn’t seem to be as strong as some, but we’ll kind of see how it goes.”
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