Jordan Love, the heir to the Packers‘ quarterback throne, is not stepping onto the practice field until he gets paid. And he’s got an unexpected ally in his corner – Colin Cowherd, who’s serving up takes hotter than a Wisconsin cheese curd. “I’m going to side with Jordan Love here,” Cowherd declared today on “The Herd, “It’s time to pay him.”

Cowherd didn’t just throw out empty praise; he backed it up with proper stats. “He had the most passing yards and the most total touchdowns. He was better than Allen, Lamar, Mahomes, Stafford, he was better than everybody in the league and that’s with a bunch of kids.”

Cowherd’s endorsement isn’t just hot air. It adds serious weight to Love’s negotiating position, potentially influencing the Packers’ front office. As Packers GM Brian Gutekunst put it, “We both want the same thing.” But what exactly is that “thing”? Without a new deal, Love would make only $11 million this season.

If you ask James Jones on “Speak,” it’s clear: “Jordan Love will be the highest-paid quarterback in football. It might only be for one week, it might only be for one day, but when he signs his deal, he will be the highest-paid quarterback in football.” 

There are still those who are not buying the hype though. “He shouldn’t be the highest paid. Because now it’s like, what’s the elite? We pay this guy like he’s the elite. Is he?” LeSean McCoy asked on the SPEAK today. This is a good question especially since Love’s time of being a starter was relatively short.

The bold strategy behind Jordan Love’s holdout

Love’s decision to hold out goes beyond money—it’s a strategic move that could reshape his future and his organization’s plans in years to come. After three seasons spent as a clipboard holder behind Aaron Rodgers, last season Love finally got his shot, and boy did he seize it!

After Week 10, as per The Athletic, Love put up numbers that were just nothing short of spectacular: second in EPA per dropback on throws under 2.5 seconds, second in EPA per dropback on passes without play action; the kind of quick-thinking decision-making would make Brett Favre proud. In addition, he ranked seventh in EPA per dropback when pressured while being able to create plays under pressure.

Love stands out not only due to his statistics. It’s the eye-popping plays like his 50-yard fadeaway pass against the Vikings that found Jayden Reed in perfect stride. “I knew I was going to have (Jayden Reed) right there. I kinda didn’t see him at first … Then he came into my vision, so I just let it out there, let him go get it.”

On “Speak,” Emmanuel Acho summarized it best “Should the Packers be comfortable with Jordan Love being the highest paid? … I think they should.” Acho pointed to Love’s maturity and humility – qualities franchise quarterbacks must have.

Mike Tannenbaum went even further on ESPN last month, stating, “Outside of Patrick Mahomes, if we, the four of us, were running an NFL team today, there is nobody on the planet I’d rather have than Jordan Love, period.” And in a bold comparison, Chris Simms too claimed last month, “If Jordan Love played in the Super Bowl (with San Francisco), the 49ers would be the Super Bowl champions.”

The Packers and Love are engaged in a high-stakes game of contract chicken, but one thing is clear: the young quarterback has shown he’s ready for everything on the field as well as off it. With Cowherd and a highlight reel that gets longer every day, Love’s Holdout might be his finest play yet.