The idea that guys in the '60s played for the love and not the money is just silly. Yes, you had those playing for love and you have those playing for love right now. They all (collectively) wanted to get paid. The market was very different back then. You didn't have TV deals on the scope they are now and the teams weren't generating the revenue then that they are now. We went through a football boom and it's been consistently growing since the 1990s. The cash is trickling down to the players. FYI, this is very much how the free market works. While the NFL doesn't always embrace this philosophy (e.g., revenue sharing), it certainly should reward its employees for continuously putting on product with a ton of demand. The idea is to see more cash flow to the employer, so he or she can reward his or her employees. We should not exempt professional sports from this methodology.
This brings me to Bakhtiari. Is 20M per year for a OLT a lot of money? Yes, if we compare it to the current market. Did the Texans over inflate the market? Yes, they absolutely did. Will 20M be lot of money for an OLT in 4 or 5 years? I think not. You look at the steady growth of contracts in the NFL, especially for OLTs, and it is trending upward. It may hit us for a year or two (as I do think revenue will dip due to the Pandemic), but the contract will look better and better as things return to normal and cap goes back up.
Additionally, this is the second most important position on the offense. When it comes to roster-building, teams want to throw the ball and stop the pass. This means QB, pass protection, pass rush, and pass defense. In that context, Aaron Rodgers, David Bakhtiarii, Za'Darius Smith, and Jaire Alexander are probably the most valuable Packers in terms of roster-building. I would not let any of them go at this time.