It’s taken a little longer than usual, but finally the full and complete Derek Carr contract details have emerged. And, as usual, the details confirm some reports regarding the deal -- and debunk others.
For now, the specifics:
1. Signing bonus of $12.5 million, paid within 15 days of contract signing.
2. Fully-guaranteed 2017 base salary of $5 million.
3. Fully-guaranteed roster bonus of $7.5 million, earned on June 30, 2017 and payable on or about September 21, 2017.
4. 2018 base salary of $7.4 million, guaranteed for injury only at signing and fully guaranteed as of the third day of the 2018 league year in March.
5. Fully-guaranteed roster bonus of $15 million, earned on the third day of the 2018 league year and paid within 15 days thereafter.
6. 2019 base salary of $19.9 million, guaranteed for injury only at signing and fully-guaranteed on the third day of the 2019 waiver period in February.
7. 2020 base salary of $18.9 million, $2.9 million of which is guaranteed for injury at signing. The $2.9 million becomes fully guaranteed on the third day of the 2020 waiver period in February.
8. 2021 base salary of $19.525 million, not guaranteed.
9. 2022 base salary of $19.777519 million, not guaranteed.
10. Annual workout bonuses of $100,000 for 2018 through 2022, based on participation in the offseason program of at least 85 percent.
The deal pays out, as multiple others have reported, $40 million fully guaranteed at signing, along with $70.2 million for injury.
The contract isn’t as backloaded as it could have been (and as some assumed it was), given the looming move from California (with state income tax of 13 percent) to Nevada (with none). Here’s what Carr will receive, year by year:
2017: $25 million.
2018: $22.5 million.
2019: $20 million.
2020: $19 million.
2021: $19.625 million.
2022: $19.877 million.
Relative to the rest of the deal, Carr gets more per year in California than he’ll get in Nevada. The key for Carr becomes 2019; if the team remains in California that year, he’ll pay an extra $2.6 million in taxes.
The cap numbers for the deal are as follows, assuming five years of proration of the signing bonus: $15 million in 2017; $25 million in 2018; $22.5 million in 2019; $21.5 million in 2020; $22.125 million in 2021; $19.877 million in 2022.
The structure confirms that the Raiders’ reported reluctance to sign linebacker Khalil Mack this year due to cap issues is a canard. By loading up $12.5 million in roster bonus and salary and limiting the signing bonus of $12.5 million, Carr ended up with a much larger cap number this year than he otherwise could have had. With a salary of $1 million and a signing bonus of $24 million (which would have still created $25 million in cash flow), the cap number for 2017 would have been only $5.8 million.