Wade Keller of PWTorch says that MJF secretly signed an extension even if he's telling everybody on and off camera he didn't because of storyline reasons.

He believes MJF's going to be in AEW beyond 2023, likely as a locker room leader.

Keller added: "I think he got paid big money and got that extension he wanted. And Tony put whatever issues he had with how MJF handled the situation aside, gave him what he wanted, and went from there."

https://wrestlingnews.co/aew-news/backstage-news-on-mjfs-reputation-in-aew