clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

Report: Raiders void Richard Seymour contract but pay heavy price

New, comments

Raiders defensive tackle Richard Seymour's contract has been voided and according to NFL contract expert Joel Corry of the National Football Post, the Raiders are not free and clear. Not by a long shot.

By Levi Damien
/ new
Oakland Raiders defensive lineman, Richard Seymour
Oakland Raiders defensive lineman, Richard Seymour
Levi Damien

Friday was the day of reckoning for the Raiders with regard to Richard Seymour's contract. Either they void his contract or pay him $19.133 million next season. That wasn't going to happen and so the voiding of his contract was to be expected.

Seymour's contract stated that if he didn't play a certain number of downs last season, the Raiders would have the option of voiding his contract. He was injured for the final eight games of last season and therefore did not meet those requirements.

A player on the other side of 33 with bad knees is not ideal for this rebuilding team. And with paying that player over $19 million in a season is definitely not ideal. It is the ultimate in "out of whack" contracts.

The Raiders have would not give any official word on whether Seymour's contract had voided as they do not comment on contracts. And with the deadline being Friday, if they made the transaction after the NFL offices had closed, it will not be made official by the league until Monday.

In cases of a contract automatically voiding itself, as happened with Nnamdi Asomugha two seasons ago, the Raiders would be free and clear. But since this was a team option, the details of the contract leave behind a large amount of dead money -- $13.714 million to be exact.

Saddling over $13 million against the cap for any player is a lot. For instance, there are reports out there that the Raiders will force Carson Palmer to take a pay cut from his current $13 million salary and he's the team's starting quarterback. This also means Seymour, even not on the team, is the biggest cap hit they will have. That's a bitter pill.

The good news with the contract void is the Raiders will save $5.419 million off the cap this coming season which brings them to just about $800k over the cap as it currently stands.

There will be more cuts made. The three most likely cap casualties will be Tommy Kelly, Rolando McClain, and Darrius Heyward-Bey. If all three are cut, it would be an additional savings of $17.255 million.

More From Silver And Black Pride

Loading comments...