The Raiders have given out a lot of new contracts this offseason. Some to top receiving weapons, some on extensions, and some for players with no guaranteed money left on their contracts.
Darren Waller checks all three of those boxes.
Two seasons ago Waller set a new franchise record for catches in a season (107). He is considered a top-three tight end in the NFL and is in his prime. His salary, on the other hand, does not reflect that.
Waller’s average of $7.5 million on his current contract lands him at 17th in the league in salary. And he is set to make just $6.8 million this season. Worse than that, he has no guaranteed money left on his deal.
Thus far Waller has not let his contract situation keep him away from the facility. Whenever asked about it, he’s responded that he is focusing on football and letting his agent deal with contract stuff.
Hard to imagine that continuing into training camp, let alone the season.
So, what might a new deal for Waller look like?
The top five tight ends in the league make between $14-$15 million per season on average. The most recent contract being Browns TE David Njoku who signed a four-year, $54.75 million deal ($13.7 million per season) with $28 million in guarantees.
For comparison, Waller’s worst season in the past three years (665 yards) is still better than the best season of Njoku’s five-year career (639 yards). The only thing Njoku has on Waller is age — Njoku is 25, Waller is 29. But that age hasn’t slowed down the likes of George Kittle and Travis Kelce. So, you can bet Waller’s agent will be looking for a deal that exceeds the one Njoku received.
I would imagine the extension Travis Kelce signed in 2020 would be the best example to use for what we can expect from Waller’s deal.
Kelce was 31 at the time he signed his extension and had two years left on his contract — just as Waller has now. At that time, Kelce signed a four-year, $57.25 million deal with $27 million in guarantees.
Figure Waller will sign something akin to a four-year, $58 million extension ($14.5 million per season) with north of $30 million in guarantees. The extension would keep him under contract until 2027, but with no guaranteed money after the 2024 season.
On average that new deal would make Waller the second highest-paid tight end in the league behind only George Kittle ($15 million per season).