The Las Vegas Raiders made a historic announcement on Wednesday morning when they extended defensive end Maxx Crosby's contract by three years. The new deal is worth up to $106.5 million and includes $91.5 million guaranteed, which means he is the highest-paid non-quarterback on an annual basis.
Crosby earned every cent of his new contract, and Raider Nation can finally take a deep breath after hearing his name pop up in trade rumors for the last season or two. He will be a Raider through 2029, barring any unexpected circumstances.
The details of Crosby's deal, however, will be quite critical as it pertains to the team's salary cap situation over the next five years. Depending on how the contract is structured, it could affect the team's ability to pursue free agents and re-sign its own talent over the coming years.
How does Maxx Crosby’s new contract affect Raiders’ chances of acquiring a QB?
Before the agreement was reached, the Las Vegas Raiders had just north of $95 million in cap space available this season and Crosby's cap hit was just under $28 million, according to Spotrac. Given that Crosby's average annual salary is now $35.5 million, there is a chance that he could cost just over $7 million more than he was going to originally.
However, teams will often load a majority of the contract on one end or the other, meaning that Crosby's could cost way more or less than $35.5 million this season. For an older player, teams want to front-load a contract, meaning they pay more to a player up-front and have less of a money commitment as the player ages. For a younger player, teams tend to back-load the contract, meaning the player will have to stay on the team for several years before they get a majority of their money.
Crosby is a bit of a tweener as a six-year NFL veteran, but considering he will be only 28 years old next season and the team just opted to extend him for an additional three years, it stands to reason that his contract could be back-loaded.
If that is the case, the Raiders' options could essentially be the same on the free agent market. The top quarterback set to be available is Sam Darnold, who could command anywhere from $25 to $40 million per year on a multi-year deal. Las Vegas could easily afford this if they are not paying Crosby a majority of his money until later on.
The Raiders' options could become more limited, however, if the deal is front-loaded because they still have to re-sign other key players like Malcolm Koonce, Tre'Von Moehrig and Robert Spillane, none of whom will be cheap. That would leave the team with quarterback options like Justin Fields, Marcus Mariota and Jameis Winston, which is not exactly an elite crop of players.
Las Vegas should be fine no matter how the contract is structured because there are several solid quarterbacks set to be available in the 2025 NFL Draft, almost all of whom would be on cheap contracts. The most important thing is that the team locked down its best defensive player before things got more complicated. Crosby needs to perform, given the contract that he just signed, but if history is any indication, Raider Nation should be confident that he will.