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Green Bay – It wasn’t that long ago that the Packers handed QB Aaron Rodgers $20 million of guaranteed money as part of a six-year, $65 million deal.

In fact, it was just three years ago as Rodgers was completing his first season as a starter.

But here it is, 2012, and Rodgers has led the team to three straight playoff appearances, won a Super Bowl title and Super Bowl MVP award and won the league’s Most Valuable Player award.

In the NFL’s time and performance continuum, that’s enough to start talking contract extension. Rodgers may have three years left on his contract, but the Packers are going to have to seriously consider whether to present him with a lifetime contract proposal before 2012 is over.

There are a couple reasons why now might be the right time.

New Orleans’ Drew Brees and Indianapolis’ Peyton Manning are headed toward free agency and both may raise the bar for quarterback salaries. Brees will, for sure, and Manning, due a $28 million bonus on March 8, might contribute if some other team deems him physically able to play following his expected release from the Colts.

Philadelphia's Michael Vick already blew away Rodgers with a six-year, $100 million last summer.

In addition, Baltimore’s Joe Flacco is in negotiations on a contract extension and his average salary and bonus should surpass Rodgers’ total numbers. If you question whether that’s the case, consider that Buffalo’s Ryan Fitzpatrick signed a six-year deal last year worth $59 million, including a reported $24 million in guarantees.

And if you don’t think those aren’t enough examples of how the salary scale is leaving behind Rodgers consider that his backup, Matt Flynn, could wind up making as much as he does after he hits free agency in March.

The league’s highest-paid quarterback – and rightly so – is New England’s Tom Brady, who signed a four-year, $72 million deal with $48.5 million guaranteed in the summer of 2010. His deal should stand up to Brees, Manning and anybody else’s for a year or two, but Rodgers should be on the 33-year-old quarterback’s heels.

In 2001, Brett Favre was 31 when the Packers signed him to a so-called “lifetime” contract, a deal worth $100 million over 10 years. Favre fulfilled seven years of that contract, pocketing a comfortable $62.5 million during that span.

Like Rodgers, Favre had three years to go on a seven-year, $42.5 million deal he had signed in ’98 after winning his third MVP award. He was on the downside of his career when he signed the $100 million deal, yet it was the right thing to do.

Conversely, Rodgers, 28, is in the prime of his career and the Packers can count on him playing at a high level for more than a few seasons. So, it might not be a bad idea for them to take care of business this season.

The primary question is, why bother when he has three years left on his deal?

There are a couple of reasons.

One, the new television contracts are set to kick in after the 2013 season, meaning Rodgers’ contract would expire as the league’s revenues and salary cap would be rising precipitously. Handing over a “lifetime” deal to Rodgers right now might save a bundle of money in 2015 when the quarterback is still a youthful 32 years old and capable of cashing in as a free agent.

If a deal isn’t done this season, Rodgers just might ride out the final two years at $20.25 million and take his chances as a free agent in ’15, the way Brees is doing this year.

Another reason to consider it now is that the Packers will soon be cash rich, the result of a Lambeau Field expansion that will tide them over nicely until the TV contracts kick in. The Packers can structure the contract so that Rodgers receives guaranteed salaries that correspond with their soon-to-be stuffed pockets, thereby saving them a monster signing bonus right now.

GM Ted Thompson has a lot of fish to fry this off-season, not the least of which is signing TE Jermichael Finley and C Scott Wells, extending WR Greg Jennings and likely rewarding LB Clay Matthews – who has two years left on his rookie contract -- with a lucrative extension.

But somewhere in between all that, he probably should be thinking about locking up his starting quarterback for the next seven to 10 years.

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