We all strive to be where we are wanted. While Mike Macdonald may have been okay with Geno Smith remaining the starting quarterback of the Seattle Seahawks, the Las Vegas Raiders were willing to trade for him. Smith's former head coach in Seattle Pete Carroll certainly played a part in bringing him to Southern Nevada. All it took was a third-round pick for the Raiders to solve their quarterback woes.
For as great as it has been to see Smith revitalize his career into his 30s, Las Vegas is about to learn what Seattle certainly did over the last few years with their starting quarterback. Smith is a good player, but a great one when he is playing on a team-friendly deal. He enters the final season of his three-year, $75 million contract at an average annual value of $25 million. Smith wants $45 million...
Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated reported over the weekend that Seattle and Smith were roughly $10 million apart in terms of negotiating a new contract. Seattle was willing to go to $35 million, but not $45 million. For Smith to be making $45 million annually on a new deal beginning in 2026, should he stick with the Raiders, that could end up being one of the worst contracts in football by the end of it.
Paying Smith $45 million in average annual value is like paying Brock Purdy $60 million per season...
Las Vegas Raiders may be on the hook to pay Geno Smith a huge premium
At this stage of his career, Smith is probably never going to get anything more than a three-year deal. He is a fine quarterback, but is not going to reset the market wherever he signs. For a guy that many people thought was a complete and total bust after how poorly things went for him when he was with the New York Jets, let's not count our chickens before they hatch. Smith is the ideal stop-gap player!
Because the NFL is a hard salary capped league, every dollar and every asset a team has or uses is precious. All 32 teams are subjected to the same allocation of resources, but how every contract is negotiated and how every pick is used largely dictates the amount of success a team can have in a given year. Of course, ownership plays the biggest role because they can put more into other areas.
What I am getting at is Smith playing at quarterback at $25 million a year is fantastic, $35 million a season is less of a bargain, and $45 million annually is a GOB Bluth huge mistake. He may be close with Carroll, but neither of them are getting any younger. Macdonald must have a great deal of job security to move on from Smith and wide receiver DK Metcalf as swiftly as he did this NFL offseason.
Las Vegas may be the entertainment capital of the world, but the Raiders are gambling on Smith here.