The Las Vegas Raiders have answered their immediate quarterback question by trading for Geno Smith, and entering the final year of his contract acquiring him comes with the automatic idea of signing him to a contract extension. Stalled contract talks with the Seahawks is apparently what quickly changed the narrative about him staying in Seattle.
To that end, the Raiders have reportedly wasted no time to start contract talks with Smith. As Tashan Reed of The Athletic noted, via Spotrac, the $16 million roster bonus he's due on March 16 via his current contract serves as a de facto deadline to have a contract extension done.
Smith will turn 35 during next season, so just how long said contract extension will be is a natural question. The deal can, and likely will, be structured to provide palatable outs before the end of it. The Athletic's Dianna Russini reported Smith has been looking to make $40-$45 million a year. Right or wrong, that's the going rate for a quarterback of Smith's ilk right now.
Raiders insider lays out Geno Smith contract extension parameters
On the Las Vegas Raiders Insider podcast, Sports Illustrated's Hondo Carpenter passed along some insight into Smith's contract extension.
“I am hearing that it may end up being a five-year, $200 million deal with Geno,” Carpenter said. “But you have remember something in the NFL. That doesn’t mean it’s a $200 million deal because you have to look at guaranteed money and everything else. It could be a five-year, $200 million deal, but it’s one that the Raiders could get out of after two or three years.”
As Carpenter noted, a "five-year deal" in the NFL is often not a full five-year commitment for all the money that's initially reported absent the finer details. Signing bonuses, any other bonuses and overall guaranteed money structure are what ultimately matters, and the Raiders can (and arguably should) make their commitment to Smith two or three years as a practical matter.
And if that's what the deal ultimately looks like, it doesn't mean the Raiders aren't properly committing to Smith.