Raiders, Russell Agree to Deal
The Oakland Raiders and the representatives for rookie quarterback JaMarcus Russell, the top overall selection in the NFL draft in April, reached a tentative agreement tonight on a contract that will enable Russell to join the team this week, a source familiar with the negotiations said.
The deal was to include more than $31 million in guaranteed money and was to have a maximum overall value of more than $60 million over six seasons, said the source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the Raiders hadn't made a public announcement. Barring any last-minute snags, Russell was expected to sign the contract on Tuesday's day off for the Raiders players and participate in Wednesday's practice, the source said.
After a long stalemate in negotiations that resulted in Russell missing all of training camp and the preseason, the two sides made progress during meetings Friday and Saturday and then resumed deliberations today. It's unlikely that Russell will play much this season, given how far he's fallen behind. The Raiders signed veteran quarterback Daunte Culpepper when it became clear that Russell's negotiations would drag on, but Culpepper was beaten out by Josh McCown for the club's starting job.
By Mark Maske |
September 10, 2007; 11:15 PM ET
| Category:
Raiders
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Posted by: Raider51 | September 11, 2007 8:33 AM
Russell is a punk. The money was on the table for a while now. Both sides were haggling over the guaranteed portion. Raiders giving 30 million and Russell wanting 35million. He pretty much wasted this year even if he wasn't going to play. Having a training camp & playing in the preseason would have been beneficial to him. For a million or 2 more guaranteed, he wastes a season.
Posted by: Allen | September 11, 2007 12:31 PM
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Russell does well -- he gets a good contract, he gets a season to learn (without being responsible that will be this year's version of the Raiders). And the Raiders will probably be drafting first next year...