Raiders sign Russell
Posted: Mon Sep 10, 2007 7:44 pm
Ending months of negotiations and a holdout that stretched to more than six weeks, the Oakland Raiders reached a contract agreement in principle with JaMarcus Russell, the former LSU quarterback who was the first overall selection in the 2007 draft, on Monday.
Russell
Barring any glitches, and contingent on formalities like him passing a physical exam, ESPN.com has confirmed that Russell will officially sign a six-year contract on Tuesday and should be on the field for the team's Wednesday practice.
There is still considerable work to be done, however, in terms of drawing up the contract, and a source close to the negotiations said late Monday that the two sides could still be working "very late into the night and maybe into [Tuesday] morning" to craft the precise language of the deal. ESPN.com has learned that Russell is still not in the Bay Area, and will not fly to Oakland until his representatives feel comfortable with all the details of the contract.
Sources said the contract, hammered out in four days of marathon face-to-face negotiations in the Bay Area, has a maximum value of $68 million.
The deal also includes $34.5 million in the first three years, an increase of about 65 percent over the first three seasons of the deal that Houston Texans defensive end Mario Williams, the top overall selection in the 2006 draft, will bank in his first three years.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=3013493
Russell
Barring any glitches, and contingent on formalities like him passing a physical exam, ESPN.com has confirmed that Russell will officially sign a six-year contract on Tuesday and should be on the field for the team's Wednesday practice.
There is still considerable work to be done, however, in terms of drawing up the contract, and a source close to the negotiations said late Monday that the two sides could still be working "very late into the night and maybe into [Tuesday] morning" to craft the precise language of the deal. ESPN.com has learned that Russell is still not in the Bay Area, and will not fly to Oakland until his representatives feel comfortable with all the details of the contract.
Sources said the contract, hammered out in four days of marathon face-to-face negotiations in the Bay Area, has a maximum value of $68 million.
The deal also includes $34.5 million in the first three years, an increase of about 65 percent over the first three seasons of the deal that Houston Texans defensive end Mario Williams, the top overall selection in the 2006 draft, will bank in his first three years.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=3013493
