After a delay in the stadium building plans in Las Vegas, the Oakland Raiders find themselves in a contract situation with quarterback Derek Carr. Carr and his camp have reportedly begun to express some frustration with how slow contract negotiations are going, but general manager Reggie McKenzie came out and assured everyone that a deal would be completed.
While McKenzie’s comments were the right words to settle the fanbase, there is still the matter of actually resolving the situation. According to Jason Cole of Bleacher Report, the team has an idea of how much to sign Carr for:
“There has been little progress in talks between the Raiders and quarterback Derek Carr on a new contract, but the Raiders would prefer to pay Carr somewhere in the range of the five-year, $122 million contract extension received by Indianapolis quarterback Andrew Luck before the 2016 season. The Raiders do not want to reset the market at the quarterback position.”
Cole also added that Carr is in less of a bargaining position than Andrew Luck was with the Indianapolis Colts:
“Carr has less leverage than Luck because Carr is due only $977,000 in base salary this season. However, the Raiders don’t want to get to the point where they have to use the franchise tag on Carr.”
Luck’s extension was the highest contract signed at the time and Carr is worth the money if the Raiders are serious about winning a Super Bowl. Talents like Carr do not always come along, so McKenzie and his front office would be wise to lock up their star quarterback sooner rather than later.
Carr has already said he would love to be a “Raider for life,” so talks will surely pick up in the coming weeks. With McKenzie’s assurances and Carr’s desire to stay, the negotiations should not take too long.
