Several Raiders this week have talked about the positive impact running back Marshawn Lynch is having on the team.
During this week’s organized team activities (OTAs), Lynch’s teammates say the former Seahawks running back is joking, smiling and needling his new friends. They say he’s upbeat and excited about coming out of retirement and playing for his hometown team.
“Oh man, you talk about the energy he brings,” Khalil Mack told ESPN this week. “He’s not even practicing right now, but he’s on the field with the running backs, talking trash. And we love it. We love it, man. We love seeing him out there. It’s fun having that experience and his personality. … ”
Aside from the prospect of getting to play for a franchise on the rise in his own community, Lynch has plenty of reasons to be excited for this next chapter of his pro football career. Millions of them, in fact.
Sheil Kapadia of ESPN.com wrote Thursday night that Lynch’s deal with the Raiders has some huge incentives in it that could pay Lynch as much as $16.5 million over its two years.
The deal is a win-win for both the Raiders and Lynch, in that just $2.3 million of the base $9 million contract is guaranteed. So, if Lynch gets injured or isn’t the player he used to be, the Raiders won’t be hurt financially.
But if Lynch stays healthy and productive and helps the Raiders win a Super Bowl, Lynch’s bank account could swell.
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Kapadia reports Lynch will receive a $400,000 bonus in 2017 if he rushes for 500 yards and bonuses of $400,000 (for 600 yards), $600,000 (for 800 and 1,000 yards), $250,000 (for every 100 yards more up to 1,600 rushing yards). He also gets $250,000 more if he scores nine touchdowns and an additional $250,000 for 12 TDs.
Other bonuses in 2017, according to Kapadia:
* $500,000 if the Raiders make the playoffs and he rushes for 1,000 yards and scores 12 TDs.
* He gets $250,000 if he’s the Associated Press league MVP.
* A Super Bowl MVP award is worth $500,000.
* His selection to the Pro Bowl nets another $250,000.
He has more bonuses, too, for the second year of his deal in 2018.
To quarterback Derek Carr – from what he’s seen so far of his new teammate – Lynch will be a huge plus for the Raiders in 2017. Carr says Lynch is a pro’s pro who will add both talent and attitude to the team. He likes that Lynch has told him he has his back.
“He’s told me multiple times that he does,” Carr told Daniel Mano of the Bay Area News Group. “To have that as quarterback is big, because he’s my last line of defense picking up blitzes. He’s the one fighting for those extra yards to move the chains for us. He’s just a loyal guy.”
