Many expect Oakland Raiders quarterback Derek Carr to splurge on luxurious items such as a house, cars, and jewelry after he signed a five-year, $125 million deal that made him the highest paid player in the NFL. It will be none of the above, however, as Carr mentioned during a press conference announcing his deal that he plans on spending it on Chick-fil-A, a fast-food restaurant. “Chick-fil-A,” Carr answered when asked where he plans to spend his money. “Probably Chick-fil-A. I’ve been eating clean. I’ll probably get some Chick-fil-A.”
The quarterback also plans to use the money to help the less fortunate -- which he has been doing since college.
Carr also said that he will give his wife something nice, “even though she begs me not to." Before signing the record deal, Carr was slated to earn less than $1 million next season.
Carr’s contract structured to keep other Raiders superstars
Carr also confirmed during the press conference that his deal was structured in order to help the Raiders sign other key players. Among those players is defensive end Khalil Mack, offensive guard Gabe Jackson, and veteran safety Reggie Nelson.
Mack is heading into the final year of his rookie deal with a fifth-year option coming in 2018. Mack is considered to be one of the top defensive players in the NFL and could demand a huge salary using the six-year, $114.5 million deal that Von Miller signed with the Denver Broncos as a baseline.
Last season, Mack tallied 73 total tackles – 54 solo – with 11 sacks, one interception, five forced fumbles, and three passes defended.
While negotiating the deal, Carr said that they found a way to give the Raiders a chance to sign other teammates who are important to the team. “I told my agent, if we can structure it in a way to help the Raiders get the other guys,” said Carr.
Carr’s contract backloaded
According to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, Carr's contract was backloaded where he could get the bulk of the money in the latter part of the deal when the team relocates to Nevada, where there is no state-level tax.
During the press conference, Raiders general manager Reggie McKenzie did not provide exact details in terms of how Carr’s deal will help with further contract extensions for Mack and Jackson.
"The bottom line is, we're able to move forward to keep all the players we need to keep in the correct timing," McKenzie told NFL.com.
Now that they have secured Carr, it will be interesting to see what this team does in the near future.
