Marshawn Lynch rumors: Raiders deal being held up by money
The Oakland Raiders and Marshawn Lynch seem like a good match, but one big issue seems to be holding things up.
Assuming Marshawn Lynch wants to play football again, there’s no way the Seattle Seahawks will take his $9 million salary for this year back on their books. A trade to the Oakland Raiders, or an outright release which would allow Lynch to freely sign with his hometown team, seems inevitable. But apart from Lynch’s own idiosyncrasies and unpredictability, a major issue has come to the surface.
According to Vic Tafur of the San Francisco Chronicle, Lynch and the Raiders have not agreed to terms due to a gap in how much each side thinks he should be paid.
Marshawn Lynch's Seattle deal would pay him $9 mi in 2017. Raiders want to pay him 1/3 that while Lynch is balking at taking less than half.
— Vic Tafur (@VicTafur) April 21, 2017
A money impasse of $1.5 million seems incredibly trivial, but with Lynch it’s also not too surprising. Raiders’ general manger Reggie McKenzie has essentially set next week, before the draft, as the deadline to sign Lynch. Albert Breer of The MMQB went a bit further a few days ago, with a report the team is willing to walk away from a deal.
As Tafur further suggested, any money difference between the Raiders and Lynch could be bridged with a deal that includes easily attainable incentives. It also doesn’t appear to be a contentious negotiation, with both sides not giving up on getting a deal done.
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Lynch just turned 31 on Saturday, and even after a year off history does not smile on running backs his age. But if he does what he needs to do on his end to return, Lynch can make a meaningful contribution to a Raiders team that has high aspirations in 2017.