Donovan McNabb and the State of Football
The Raiders are digging deep into their wallets to keep pace in the AFC West.
On Friday, Las Vegas reportedly inked receiver Hunter Renfrow to a two-year, $32 million extension, with $21 million guaranteed. The 26-year-old deserves it after catching 103 passes last season — third-most in team history (Darren Waller, 107, 2020; Tim Brown, 104, 1997) — and hauling in nine touchdown passes.
The re-up is the latest offseason move for new GM Dave Ziegler, who has locked in a core group of players that should help the Raiders stay competitive with the Chiefs, Chargers, and Broncos.
- QB Derek Carr: 3 YRS/$121.5M — $40.5M AAV (5th among QBs).
- WR Davante Adams: 5 YRS/$140M — $28M AAV (2nd among WRs).
- DE Maxx Crosby: 4 YRS/$94M — $23.5M AAV (2nd among DEs).
- WR Renfrow: 2 YRS/$32M — $16M AAV (20th among WRs).
The Raiders (10-7) reached the playoffs for the first time since 2016 but fell to the Bengals in the AFC Wild Card round — the franchise hasn’t made it past the Wild Card since 2002.
And despite the spending, it won’t be easy for Las Vegas in a division with the Chiefs and Chargers (both above .500 in ’21), as well as the new-look Broncos with QB Russell Wilson.
The Raiders are long shots for this season: Oddsmakers have them 4th in the AFC West (+650), T-10 to win the AFC (+2000), and T-17 to win the Super Bowl (+4000).
