Financial details of Marshawn Lynch’s contract
By Seth Murphy
The financial details of Marshawn Lynch’s deal with the Oakland Raiders have been released.
Thanks to Ben Volin of the Boston Globe, we now know the details of Marshawn Lynch’s deal with the Oakland Raiders.
The deal is a technically written to be a two-year contract, but the terms of the deal make it clear that the Raiders can jump ship after one year if the 31-year-old Lynch doesn’t live up to expectations.
In typical Reggie McKenzie fashion, the contract does not include a signing bonus, meaning that Lynch can be released at any time without dead money accelerating to the cap year.
Lynch has $2.5 million dollars guaranteed in the form of a $1.35 million salary, and a $1 million dollar roster bonus due May 3rd. Many teams would have made this a signing bonus, but the Raiders generally use a roster bonus soon after the contract is signed instead. There is also a $150,000 workout bonus. Lynch can also expect an additional $500,000 if he is on the active game day roster for each game throughout the regular season.
2018 will make the deal much more difficult for the Raiders, particularly because Khalil Mack, Derek Carr and Gabe Jackson are all looking at huge contract extensions that will take a toll on the salary cap.
If Lynch performs in 2017 and the Raiders want to keep him for 2018, he’ll have a cap hit of $6 million. $4 million of that comes from the base salary and $1 million is in the form of a roster and a workout bonus, as well as a bonus for being active in each game.
After seeing the contract details for 2018, unless Lynch has an All-Pro season, I find it unlikely he’ll be on the roster for two years. There is simply too much cap space that will be needed to retain the young stars on the team.
Lynch will be 32 years old, and the team has DeAndre Washington and Jalen Richard waiting in the wings, as well as the newly drafted Elijah Hood. However, trying to figure out how to pay Marshawn after a big season is certainly a good problem to have, despite it putting the team in a financial bind.
In comparison, Adrian Peterson signed a fairly similar deal. He is getting less money overall at two years $7 million, but he does have a signing bonus of $2.5 million. So if he is cut, the entirety of that bonus would count as dead money. The back-end of AP’s deal much more team-friendly than Lynch’s, with only a $4.75 million cap hit but, also $1.25 million in dead money.
One other contract to compare is that of Latavius Murray. While his deal looks large at first glance (three years, $15 million), the Vikings protected themselves with the structure of the deal. Murray and Lynch have similar first-year structure, with the exception that the majority of Murray’s deal will come from weekly roster bonuses.
Because Murray received a signing bonus, albeit a small one, the Vikings can release Murray after one year, resulting in only $1.2 million in dead money. If Murray has a big season in 2017. will then have a much larger cap hit in 2018 and 2019 — around the $5 million dollar range.
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All three backs have comparable first-year contracts with significant investments after that. The back-end of Peterson’s deal is the most team-friendly while Lynch’s and Murray’s are a significant investment. Whether the Raiders made the right decision picking Lynch over pursuing Adrian Peterson or retaining Latavius Murray will likely be determined this year based on each back’s respective performances.
Regardless of the outcome, the lack of back end security on all of these deals signifies the value that teams are now placing on the running back position — very little.