Report: Mariota to accept pay cut to stay with Raiders

Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Marcus Mariota Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Report: Marcus Mariota to accept pay cut to stay with Raiders

By Zac Wassink | Last updated 3/23/21

This past Thursday, NFL Network's Ian Rapoport explained that the Las Vegas Raiders would release backup quarterback Marcus Mariota if he did not accept a pay cut that involved reducing his salary from the $10.725 million he was owed for 2021 to roughly $3 million to provide the club some needed salary-cap relief.

Rapoport tweeted on Tuesday that Mariota and the Raiders have agreed to a contract restructuring:

#Raiders QB Marcus Mariota is expected to sign a reworked contract with Las Vegas, sources say, as he’ll get a 1-year deal worth $3.5M with a chance to make up to $8M including incentives. It was up and down the last few weeks, but he recently made the call to stick around.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 23, 2021

The original paycut offer $3M. Marcus Mariota negotiated up, giving him a chance for some real upside. And, should be noted, the contract is also tradable if the opportunity arises. But for now, a resolution. https://t.co/qOx06yDvg5
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 23, 2021

In late February, Rapoport said that the supposed trade market for the second overall pick of the 2015 draft "dried up significantly" because of incentives attached to his contract at that time. Under his new agreement, Mariota would only hit incentives if Raiders starter Derek Carr goes down to an injury as he did last fall.

Mariota likely wasn't finding a starting job on the open market after teams such as the Indianapolis Colts, Chicago Bears and New England Patriots added proven quarterbacks to their depth charts. Other clubs, meanwhile, are waiting until April 29 to draft their chosen signal-callers. The 27-year-old will earn millions of dollars staying where he's comfortable, and there are worse ways to make a living in the NFL.

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