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What had to happen finally happened.
After months of negotiations and debates over who really has the leverage, the Jets on Monday agreed to acquire superstar quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
The Packers traded Rodgers, the No. 15 pick in this year’s draft and a 2023 fifth-round pick (No. 170) to the Jets in exchange for the No. 13 pick in this year’s draft, a 2023 second-round pick (No. 42), a 2023 sixth-round pick (No. 207) and a conditional 2024 second-round pick.
The conditional pick becomes a first-rounder next year if Rodgers plays 65 percent or more of the snaps this season.
As with any blockbuster deal — especially a trade saga with as many twists and turns as this one — there will be winners and losers, even if, as The Post’s Brian Costello put it, we won’t know for at least a year who won the trade itself.
Let’s take a look:
Winners
Jets fans: Nearly 50 years since they had their last bona fide franchise quarterback in Joe Namath — whose iconic No. 12 will remain out of circulation as Rodgers switches to No. 8 — Jets fans finally have an undeniably top-end signal caller to root for, albeit a 39-year-old in decline. Along with a promising young core, it provides Jets fans with the most hope and anticipation entering a season perhaps in decades.
Jets receivers: Garrett Wilson, Corey Davis, Denzel Mims and the newly acquired Allen Lazard and Mecole Hardman now will have a future Hall of Famer throwing them passes. After dealing with the offense’s ineptitude under Zach Wilson — “this s–t’s sorry,” Wilson memorably said after a three-point outing in New England — there shouldn’t be any complaints about the quality of the quarterback. Safe to say there was excitement when the trade went down.
Zach Wilson: This one could go both ways. Wilson technically loses his job, and it must be difficult to watch his teammates celebrate the move around him. But there was no chance Wilson was going to be the Jets’ starter this season — team brass pretty much had said as much. So Wilson gets to sit behind and learn from a legend he grew up admiring. And Rodgers, who turns 40 in December and annually flirts with retirement, is not a long-term option as Derek Carr or Jimmy Garrappolo would have been. Rodgers is for right now. One season, two max. Wilson can learn from Rodgers and still have a chance to later deliver to the Jets what they envisioned when drafting him with the No. 2 overall pick.
Jordan Love: Entering his fourth season after the Packers moved up to select him with the No. 26 overall pick in the 2020 draft, Love likely finally gets his chance to take over as the Packers’ starting quarterback. He’s appeared in 10 games and started just one through three seasons, and remains one of the NFL’s greatest mysteries.
Robert Saleh: Although Woody Johnson wouldn’t go on record saying it, it’s likely Saleh needs to make a run this season to keep his job. He was handicapped last season by woeful quarterback production with an otherwise talented, playoff-caliber roster. But with the trade, there’s no more excuses: Saleh has to win, now.
Nathaniel Hackett: The Jets’ new offensive coordinator reunites with his former quarterback after the two enjoyed a ton of success together with the Packers.
Media: Rodgers is one of the biggest personalities in sports (for better and often for worse). The Jets are sure to be featured in a ton of primetime TV games, and reporters will have plenty of material to work with.
Losers
AFC East opponents/cornerbacks: The Jets instantly move up a notch in the AFC, and figure to be competitive to win the division. AFC East defenses have gotten used to woeful quarterback play when facing the Jets. That’s not true anymore.
Joe Douglas: Yes, he got his guy. But the Jets general manager seemingly caved in giving up more to acquire Rodgers than most thought it would take, particularly as the saga dragged on. The 2024 conditional pick, which will likely become a first-rounder barring injury, along with a second-rounder and a first-round pick swap this year suggests the Packers held the leverage after all. Douglas painted himself into a corner knowing he couldn’t go into next season with Zach Wilson as the starter then watched Carr and Garroppolo sign in free agency and leave Rodgers as his only viable option. At the end of the day, Douglas gave up a haul for a rental QB coming off a down year, and needs to approach — win? — a Super Bowl to justify the move. If it doesn’t work out, he’s stuck with significantly less draft capital, if he even has a job. He better hope it works.
Lambeau Leaps: Though nobody really knows what Love is capable of, it’s hard to believe it won’t be a steep drop-off from Rodgers at the frozen tundra.
