Less than a year ago, we went inside the latest Derek Carr contract with the Raiders. We now get to do it all over again.
We’re doing it all over again because the Raiders exercised their ability to ditch the contract after a one-year, $24.9 million arrangement.
Now with the Saints, here’s what Carr is due to receive, per a source with knowledge of the terms.
1. Signing bonus: $28.5 million.
2. 2023 base salary: $1.5 million, fully guaranteed.
3. 2024 base salary: $30 million, fully guaranteed.
4. 2025 compensation: $40 million, guaranteed for injury at signing. Of that amount, $10 million becomes fully guaranteed in 2024, and the remainder becomes fully guaranteed in 2025. (The payments are in the form of a 90-man offseason roster bonus in the amount of $10 million, and a $30 million base salary.)
5. 2026 base salary: $50 million, non-guaranteed.
So while it’s technically a four-year, $150 million deal, it’s at best a three-year, $100 million deal. The fourth year is a device aimed simply at driving the average from $33.3 million per year to $37.5 million — since he reportedly was looking for at least $35 million per year.
The contract could be as short as two years and $70 million, with the final $10 million being subject to offset in 2025.
At a minimum, Carr will make $60 million for one year. The only way to avoid owing $70 million over two would be to cut him after one season.
And while the deal includes a no-trade clause, no one would trade for that deal if Carr didn’t want to play for the team in question, with or without an official no-trade clause.