The Oakland Raiders will pay former quarterback JaMarcus Russell close to $3 million in a settlement "in the next couple of weeks,"according to Vic Tafur of the San Francisco Chronicle. Oakland and the former No. 1 overall draft pick have been in a dispute about guaranteed money since the quarterback was released prior to the start of the 2011 season.
Russell's rookie contract came before the rookie wage scale was in place, so he's already been paid $36.4 million. At the time of his release, the Raiders claimed he owed them for salary advances, while Russell filed a grievance saying he was still owed an additional $9 million.
The verifiable numbers were the guaranteed dollars in his contract, and that remaining amount was close to $3 million. The two sides were scheduled to appear in court when they reached this settlement. It's pretty wild that Russell is going to get even more money given how poorly he played, but it goes to show that his rookie holdout, the one that saw him miss the first regular season game of that rookie season, probably worked heavily in his favor.
The Raiders are still looking for a franchise quarterback, and Russell himself is looking to complete a comeback to the league. Russell was widely panned for his poor work ethic during his time with the Raiders, and he let his weight get out of control. However, recent pictures suggest Russell is closer to his college playing weight, which means he's dropped about 50 pounds at this point.
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