He didn't have wifi on the plane. He wasn't even sure if his airline offered that luxurious of an amenity.
It wasn't until Zach Tom landed in Green Bay for the start of this week's training camp slate that he found out he had inked a record-breaking contract with the Packers that secured long-term financial freedom for both him and his family.
"It's definitely a weight off my shoulders," he admitted on Wednesday after the first practice of the summer, standing before local media in front of his newly remodeled locker. The four-year, $88 million dollar deal that was negotiated by his agent, Michael Hoffman, made Tom the third-highest-paid right tackle in the league by average annual value, behind only Penei Sewell of the Detroit Lions and Lane Johnson of the Philadelphia Eagles. Both of those players have earned All-Pro nods in their careers while Tom has yet to be voted to a Pro Bowl.
The deal comes with a signing bonus of $30.2 million dollars, which is the biggest signing bonus for any offensive lineman in the history of the league.
His first significant investment? Probably an upgraded set of wheels. Tom said that he's still driving the same 2016 Dodge Charger from his college days at Wake Forest.
"Base addition. No tinted windows, no nothing. Just a basic, white Charger," he said. "I'm gonna get advice from some of the guys on the team and see what they like. We'll see."
To anyone outside of Green Bay, Tom may appear to be unheralded. The former fourth-round pick who nearly slipped into the fifth round has not only blossomed into one of the Packers' most coveted assets, but he's done so as an unsung hero of sorts. He's surrounded by fellow offensive linemen with much greater pedigrees who entered the league as premium draft picks. Jordan Morgan arrived as a first-round pick, Elgton Jenkins and Anthony Belton are second-round picks and even Anthony Banks, who signed a $77 million dollar deal with the Packers this past offseason and will enter the year as their clubhouse leader for the left guard position, was a second-round pick of the San Francisco 49ers. The only current starter who has Tom beat is his 2022 draftmate, Rasheed Walker, who was a seventh-round pick.
Overcoming the odds and ascending into the Packers' right tackle of the future—a job he's held for the past two seasons—is a testament to the work he's showcased to both his teammates and those in the personnel department who took a chance on him.
"He's been an extremely reliable player and person since he's gotten here," said general manager Brian Gutekunst. "For a fourth-round pick to come in and earn the opportunities he had early on, he's such a versatile player for us. He can play all over the line—certainly, he's locked down that right tackle spot for the last couple of years and done a good job for us.
"It was important for the Packers to get that done and I'm excited for Zach and where he's going to go from here."
Now that Tom is being paid like an elite offensive tackle, the Packers are going to expect him to perform like one. While he's been stellar to this point in his career, team brass is anticipating that he'll take another leap as he ventures into his prime. He's started every single game for the Packers dating back to 2023 and he's now cemented in the team's long-term plans as a fixture in protecting quarterback Jordan Love. He's played 1,303 snaps in pass protection throughout the last two seasons, surrendering just six sacks and 65 pressures. The 28 pressures he allowed last season were one less than Sewell's 29.
The Packers typically pay players not for what they've done, but for what they're projected to do in the future. Tom is going to undergo a gauntlet in 2025, allowing him to earn every last cent in his contract. He'll line up across players such as Micah Parsons, Brian Burns, T.J. Watt, Montez Sweat and Aidan Hutchinson—all of whom rank among some of the best pass rushers in the league who rush from Tom's side. It's going to take more than a treacherous schedule to deter Tom from answering the call, even if his future in Green Bay is solidified. Nothing changes on his end.
"You gotta earn it every day, no matter what," he said. "Nothing is gonna change with my mindset. I'm gonna come out here and work every day, prove it every day. You can get exposed at any point in this league. You still gotta go out there and show that you're worth it."
He wasn't too eager to admit it, but Tom did grow somewhat concerned the longer he went without a new deal. This season would've marked the final year of his rookie contract, creating a scenario where he enters unrestricted free agency next spring, however, the Packers were never going to allow that to happen. Locking down Tom for the foreseeable future crosses off one more item on Gutekunst's to-do list and puts the right tackle's mind at ease—now he just wants to validate the organization's faith in him.
"I knew we weren't gonna let this drag on into camp," said Tom. "Once I landed, [my agent] told me and it was just a weight off my shoulders. Now I can focus on football, go out there—I'm not going to change my mentality, not change my mindset. I'm still going to do what I do; work hard every day, show up to practice every day and be there with the team."
