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Derek Carr's extension makes him highest paid NFL player ever

Frank Schwab
·NFL writer

It’s official: Derek Carr isn’t going anywhere. And he’s a very rich man.

After a report Wednesday that Carr and the Oakland Raiders were close on an extension, Carr tweeted caution that it wasn’t done yet. A little after 7 a.m. Pacific time on Thursday, it was done.

The extension is five years and $125 million, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. That makes Carr the highest-paid player, in terms of average annual salary, in NFL history. Before Thursday, Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck held that record at $24.6 million per year.

It also brought a funny response from Derek’s brother, former NFL quarterback David Carr.

It’s a great story of Carr, a second-round pick, working to become one of the NFL’s better quarterbacks. The narrative will shift a bit now that he’s the highest paid player in league history. There will be more pressure on him due to that contract. But there’s no reason to believe Carr won’t continue to improve, just like he has his first three seasons.

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This is also big news for Las Vegas. This means the Las Vegas Raiders, whenever that move becomes official (the new stadium is reportedly scheduled to be done in 2020), will have a signature player to market to a new fanbase. It’s weird to think about it this way, but other than the actual relocation, this is the first major news story in Las Vegas Raiders history.

Everyone is happy. Carr is rich beyond his wildest dreams. The Raiders have their franchise quarterback locked down for a while. Oakland gets a final shot at a Super Bowl with Carr, and Las Vegas has no more worries about who its first NFL superstar will be.

Derek Carr's new deal is worth $25 million per year. (AP)
Derek Carr’s new deal is worth $25 million per year. (AP)

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Frank Schwab is the editor of Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at shutdown.corner@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!

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