Since reports broke out a couple weeks ago of the Raiders and Marshawn Lynch seemingly within the stroke of a pen on finalizing a deal, negotiations seemed to have slowed to a stop.
From the sounds of it, there isn’t much distance between what the Raiders are offering and what Lynch’s people will accept. That’s not a large gap if both sides are willing to concede and it’s possible the contract Adrian Peterson just signed with the New Orleans Saints could be the spark that makes it happen.
Lynch’s contract with the Seahawks if and when he comes out of retirement is $9 million this season. He is said to be willing to take roughly half that to sign with the Raiders. While on the other side, the Raiders are said to be offering something closer to a third of that. That puts the two sides between $3 million and $4.5 million -- a difference of $1.5 million.
Peterson’s new deal with the Saints will pay him $3.5 million guaranteed this season and up to an average of over $4 million per season over two years after incentives. And there are no obligations for a second season.
Those numbers land squarely in between the reported numbers Lynch is asking for and the Raiders are offering.
Lynch and Peterson came into the league in the same 2007 draft, both have played in 9 full NFL seasons, and are 11 months apart in age. Both are also a season removed from being in the Pro Bowl. Their contracts should be somewhat similar.
There are, of course, many other factors that go into contracts that make them far more complicated than the raw numbers. If there are hangups, though, the Peterson deal should provide a good blueprint for Lynch in Oakland.
The clock is still ticking. The Raiders have said they would like to get a deal done before the draft and its upon us. Remember, once he agrees to terms, then there’s the matter of formally un-retiring and figuring out how the Seahawks are going to handle it. They could release him or try to get something in trade which would either be a low pick in this year’s draft or a conditional low round pick in 2018.
Hopefully things get real interesting the next couple days.
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