Brandt: Russell’s cost to Raiders
By Jerry McDonald - NFL Writer
Saturday, December 19th, 2009 at 9:28 am in Oakland Raiders.
Andrew Brandt, a former front office executive with the Green Bay Packers, laid out the details of the JaMarcus Russell contract in terms of how much they’ve paid him and how the ramifications of cutting him.
In his column in the National Football Post, Brandt reports the Raiders are in to Russell for at least $3 million next season, bringing the total outlay to $39.4 million if he were to be cut following the season.
The salary cap situation is unknown in the absence of a collective bargaining agreement. Should a CBA be reached, Russell’s hit could be $18 million. Brandt also writes there is talk of “cap-dumping” provisions in the absence of a CBA.
In any event, Brandt concludes, “It’s hard to believe there’s ever been so much paid for so little.”
That was the deal the Raiders haggled over to the point where Russell didn’t arrive until the second week of the season, although they obviously didn’t foresee their top pick falling off the face of the earth in Year 3.