Despite the obvious outcome, the drama had plenty of twists and turns along the way. One of those was a revised contract offer the Packers made at the 11th hour of negotiations and while Green Bay made its pitch, Alexander had a key role in his decision to leave the team and head to free agency.

Jaire Alexander Reportedly Turned Down Revised Contract From Packers

According to SI’s Albert Breer, the Packers offered Alexander a reduced, incentive-laden one-year deal that would make him a free agent in 2026. While the Packers made a last-ditch effort to keep Alexander, he turned it down based on the structure of the deal.

The Packers offered Jaire Alexander a reduced, incentive-laden one-year deal that’d make him a free agent in 2026—Alexander turned it down, not liking the structure. Green Bay tried to trade him in March, and during the draft.

That also failed, so Alexander’s a June free agent.

— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) June 9, 2025

The Packers’ decision to offer an incentive-based deal to Alexander isn’t surprising.

The 28-year-old had two years remaining on a four-year, $84 million contract extension signed in 2022 but had trouble staying on the field since he got paid. Green Bay also tried to trade Alexander and had a deal in place according to Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, but the deal fell through when the acquiring team didn’t want to take on Alexander’s full $17 million salary for next season.

With 34 games missed due to injury or suspension over the past four seasons, general manager Brian Gutekunst probably wanted to get his money’s worth if Alexander came back, but that’s not the only reason for that decision.

As a fan favorite, the Packers were probably looking to get out in front of his release. While the deal appeared to be an olive branch, we don’t know what the specific incentives were. If they were out of reach, it was probably enough for Alexander to turn it down but make it appear that he made the decision to leave the team.

If that was the Packers strategy, it may not have worked. Alexander remained in contact with defensive coaches as he skipped voluntary workouts last week and ESPN’s Rob Demovsky reported that the 28-year-old was ready to report for the team’s mandatory minicamp on Tuesday before getting word of his release.

It also makes sense to see if Alexander can get a longer commitment from another team in need of secondary help, making the decision to move on even easier.

It creates an interesting scenario where Alexander can come out ahead financially, but the Packers have just doubled down on the situation they have as they look to build off an 11-win season in 2025.