The Oakland Raiders to FINALLY sign Russell

[M Dogg™]

FINALLY... Let the JaMonster era begin. I think he gets paid more than even he wanted, but the Raiders gets the language they wanted... WTF... a hold out because of language... Al Davis is a crazy old man.



Ending months of negotiations and a holdout that stretched to more than six weeks, the Oakland Raiders reached a contract agreement in principle on Monday with JaMarcus Russell, the former LSU quarterback who was the first overall selection in the 2007 draft.

Barring any glitches, and contingent on formalities like him passing a physical exam, ESPN.com has confirmed that Russell will officially sign a six-year contract on Tuesday and should be on the field for the team's Wednesday practice.

There is still considerable work to be done, however, in terms of drawing up the contract, and a source close to the negotiations said late Monday that the two sides could still be working "very late into the night and maybe into [Tuesday] morning" to craft the precise language of the deal. ESPN.com has learned that Russell is still not in the Bay Area, and will not fly to Oakland until his representatives feel comfortable with all the details of the contract.

Sources said the contract, hammered out in four days of marathon face-to-face negotiations in the Bay Area, has a maximum value of $68 million.

The deal also includes $34.5 million in the first three years, an increase of about 65 percent over the first three seasons of the deal that Houston Texans defensive end Mario Williams, the top overall selection in the 2006 draft, will bank in his first three years.

There is a $3 million guarantee in the fourth season of Russell's deal, essentially creating $37.5 million in guarantees.

So, while it appears that the Raiders were able to hold the guarantees in the range that they had been proposing in recent discussions, the long holdout seems to have garnered Russell a very advantageous payout structure.

Of course, it also cost him any opportunity to win the starting job in training camp.

The Raiders' staff chose Josh McCown as the starter after a preseason competition with Daunte Culpepper, who was signed as a free agent during camp.

Russell, 22, staged one of the longest holdouts by a rookie in recent history. In 2002, offensive tackle Bryant McKinnie, the first-round choice of the Minnesota Vikings that year, missed the first eight games of the regular season. In terms of top overall picks, no one has held out longer than Russell since tailback Bo Jackson declined to sign with Tampa Bay altogether in 1986.

During his three seasons as the LSU starter, Russell completed 493 of 797 passes for 6,625 yards, with 52 touchdown passes and 21 interceptions.

After weeks of inertia, the parties met for much of the day Friday at an undisclosed Bay Area site, and drew close to an accord. The talks moved in reverse for a while when they resumed Saturday.

Because the Raiders opened the season Sunday against the Detroit Lions, there was not much bargaining.

The weekend negotiations represented the first face-to-face bargaining since the parties met in Los Angeles on Aug. 20 and there was a ramped-up sense of urgency.

The two sides then got back to work Monday and spent much of the day fine-tuning the proposal and committing it to contract language.


Len Pasquarelli is a senior writer for ESPN.com.

[.:DaYg0sTyLz:.]

yeah i just read this shit. Its about time. Too bad the only chance of seeing him on the field this year is if the Raiders are like 0-8 halfway through the season.

[M Dogg™]

yeah i just read this shit. Its about time. Too bad the only chance of seeing him on the field this year is if the Raiders are like 0-8 halfway through the season.

After losing to the Lions, honestly, that's not unrealistic. I'm just happy, I don't want to see him play this year though. I'd rather have Dante start, and just give Russell a year of learning. All the best QBs do better after a year of learning. Look at McNair, Montana and Vick, who all came into situations that were not good for a rookie QB, and sat out most of the season except for some 4th quarter blow outs, and that gave the players time to adjust to the NFL. Now I would not be surprise if by November/December you see Russell in some games. They need to develope him, they just invested a 6 year contract on him at 60million, a record contract for any rookie, but don't over expose him behind that weak line. Also, odds are I bet he still starts the last game.

[.:DaYg0sTyLz:.]

yeah i just read this shit. Its about time. Too bad the only chance of seeing him on the field this year is if the Raiders are like 0-8 halfway through the season.

After losing to the Lions, honestly, that's not unrealistic. I'm just happy, I don't want to see him play this year though. I'd rather have Dante start, and just give Russell a year of learning. All the best QBs do better after a year of learning. Look at McNair, Montana and Vick, who all came into situations that were not good for a rookie QB, and sat out most of the season except for some 4th quarter blow outs, and that gave the players time to adjust to the NFL. Now I would not be surprise if by November/December you see Russell in some games. They need to develope him, they just invested a 6 year contract on him at 60million, a record contract for any rookie, but don't over expose him behind that weak line. Also, odds are I bet he still starts the last game.

problem is, we're not even starting Daunte. They coulda used the money that was thrown into Culpeppers contract and maybe had Russel signed by training camp. Either way, 0-8 aint happenin. We got the Browns in week 3 i think! lol. Plus, the offense actually looked ok against the Lions. They should still get better.

[M Dogg™]

yeah i just read this shit. Its about time. Too bad the only chance of seeing him on the field this year is if the Raiders are like 0-8 halfway through the season.

After losing to the Lions, honestly, that's not unrealistic. I'm just happy, I don't want to see him play this year though. I'd rather have Dante start, and just give Russell a year of learning. All the best QBs do better after a year of learning. Look at McNair, Montana and Vick, who all came into situations that were not good for a rookie QB, and sat out most of the season except for some 4th quarter blow outs, and that gave the players time to adjust to the NFL. Now I would not be surprise if by November/December you see Russell in some games. They need to develope him, they just invested a 6 year contract on him at 60million, a record contract for any rookie, but don't over expose him behind that weak line. Also, odds are I bet he still starts the last game.

problem is, we're not even starting Daunte. They coulda used the money that was thrown into Culpeppers contract and maybe had Russel signed by training camp. Either way, 0-8 aint happenin. We got the Browns in week 3 i think! lol. Plus, the offense actually looked ok against the Lions. They should still get better.

Daunte will start by week 3, and your right, a Daunte lead Raiders could beat the Browns. If not, throw Russell in now... lol. They are getting better, just putting Russell out there would set him up to be the next Ryan Leaf. Had Leaf been with the Chargers latter, after the O-Line improved, then the story would have been different. It'll all come together, Hopefully they put Culpepper out there sooner rather than later if you actually want to win games. McCown may run the system better, but Culpepper wins games, bottomline. Kiffin's a young coach, he'll learn sooner or later, his got a lot to learn too.

[.:DaYg0sTyLz:.]

yeah i just read this shit. Its about time. Too bad the only chance of seeing him on the field this year is if the Raiders are like 0-8 halfway through the season.

After losing to the Lions, honestly, that's not unrealistic. I'm just happy, I don't want to see him play this year though. I'd rather have Dante start, and just give Russell a year of learning. All the best QBs do better after a year of learning. Look at McNair, Montana and Vick, who all came into situations that were not good for a rookie QB, and sat out most of the season except for some 4th quarter blow outs, and that gave the players time to adjust to the NFL. Now I would not be surprise if by November/December you see Russell in some games. They need to develope him, they just invested a 6 year contract on him at 60million, a record contract for any rookie, but don't over expose him behind that weak line. Also, odds are I bet he still starts the last game.

problem is, we're not even starting Daunte. They coulda used the money that was thrown into Culpeppers contract and maybe had Russel signed by training camp. Either way, 0-8 aint happenin. We got the Browns in week 3 i think! lol. Plus, the offense actually looked ok against the Lions. They should still get better.

Daunte will start by week 3, and your right, a Daunte lead Raiders could beat the Browns. If not, throw Russell in now... lol. They are getting better, just putting Russell out there would set him up to be the next Ryan Leaf. Had Leaf been with the Chargers latter, after the O-Line improved, then the story would have been different. It'll all come together, Hopefully they put Culpepper out there sooner rather than later if you actually want to win games. McCown may run the system better, but Culpepper wins games, bottomline. Kiffin's a young coach, he'll learn sooner or later, his got a lot to learn too.

Ryan Leaf would have been Ryan Leaf no matter where he played lol. His issues werent on the field, they were in his head. But yeah, (just like every other Raider fan) I wanna see Daunte in there.

[Don Jacob]

well it's about time, i want to see what's going to hapeen the next 5 weeks with the whole qb situation.

[.:DaYg0sTyLz:.]

i think they said this was the longest hold out since Bo Jackson completely refused to play for Tampa.

[Wild_Elmo]

good news, but this really is not going to help us immediately. our offense looked good, but our defense was letting kitna complete everything. it looked like they were playing cover 3 the whole game and gave them everything less than 10 yards. what the hell are you doing rob ryan.

[Don Jacob]

it'll turn around. the defense is still good and the offense is still going to be a little shakey. i'd expect the defense to return to form as well as the offense (not as bad as last year though)

[Bay Area Jat]

+1 for using the new handle JaMonster. Glad to see that he signed, his bitch ass better live up to the fat contract he signed. We need him to become a star in the next 2 years

[GangstaBoogy]

yeah i just read this shit. Its about time. Too bad the only chance of seeing him on the field this year is if the Raiders are like 0-8 halfway through the season.

Thats a strong possibility.

[Wild_Elmo]

he isn't signed yet, they just came to an agreement. they are drawing up the contract now.

[Dodgers#1]

yeah i just read this shit. Its about time. Too bad the only chance of seeing him on the field this year is if the Raiders are like 0-8 halfway through the season.

After losing to the Lions, honestly, that's not unrealistic. I'm just happy, I don't want to see him play this year though. I'd rather have Dante start, and just give Russell a year of learning. All the best QBs do better after a year of learning. Look at McNair, Montana and Vick, who all came into situations that were not good for a rookie QB, and sat out most of the season except for some 4th quarter blow outs, and that gave the players time to adjust to the NFL. Now I would not be surprise if by November/December you see Russell in some games. They need to develope him, they just invested a 6 year contract on him at 60million, a record contract for any rookie, but don't over expose him behind that weak line. Also, odds are I bet he still starts the last game.

problem is, we're not even starting Daunte. They coulda used the money that was thrown into Culpeppers contract and maybe had Russel signed by training camp. Either way, 0-8 aint happenin. We got the Browns in week 3 i think! lol. Plus, the offense actually looked ok against the Lions. They should still get better.

Daunte will start by week 3, and your right, a Daunte lead Raiders could beat the Browns. If not, throw Russell in now... lol. They are getting better, just putting Russell out there would set him up to be the next Ryan Leaf. Had Leaf been with the Chargers latter, after the O-Line improved, then the story would have been different. It'll all come together, Hopefully they put Culpepper out there sooner rather than later if you actually want to win games. McCown may run the system better, but Culpepper wins games, bottomline. Kiffin's a young coach, he'll learn sooner or later, his got a lot to learn too.

Ryan Leaf would have been Ryan Leaf no matter where he played lol. His issues werent on the field, they were in his head. But yeah, (just like every other Raider fan) I wanna see Daunte in there.

i agree with u homie put in Daunte in this year and let Russell learn the playbook and start him next year   

[Bay Area Jat]

JaMonster should be practicing wit the on wed. Also look for C-Pepp to make the start at QB for the Raiders this week.