What Carr’s Contract Extension Means for the Future of the Raiders

First-year Raiders head coach Josh McDaniels and general manager Dave Ziegler have answered the big Derek Carr question, and the Silver and Black’s franchise quarterback is now locked in through 2025. Carr received $65 million in new guaranteed money with his new contract and has been reunited with his college teammate WR Davante Adams. So what does his extension mean for Carr and the Raiders moving forward?

First and foremost, Carr’s extension means their won’t likely be a new QB1 in the desert anytime soon. McDaniels and Ziegler have committed to building around Carr in their pursuit of a championship, and the fingerprints of the new Raiders regime are already all over the roster.

“I’ve only wanted to be a Raider,” Carr said at his press conference Wednesday following the news of his extension. “I told my agent, I said, ‘I’m either going to be a Raider or I’m going to be playing golf.’ I don’t want to play anywhere else. That’s how much this place means to me.”

Carr’s contract includes a no-trade clause, further cementing his permanent and long-term outlook with the team. Carr’s cap hit will increase from roughly $19 million this season to roughly $35 million in 2023, with $40+ million cap hits in 2024 and 2025.

Although those are eye-popping numbers at first look, the quarterback contract market is an ever-rising tide, as well as the overall salary cap. Much like the contract Carr signed in 2017, which ends this season with a $19 million cap hit, Carr’s extension with the Raiders will likely not eat up too much cap space for the front office to build around him moving forward.

“It was very clear to me how (McDaniels and Ziegler) felt about me day one… I knew I was going to be a Raider, I was just hoping that it would be for longer than my contract was at that moment.”

“I want to make sure that every opportunity is there for all of my guys to get signed. Yeah, I took sacrifices… There were certain things that were important to me, and after that… just keep my guys together.”