In the NFL, the market constantly changes for every single position. One player wants to be paid as the highest at his position, but may not be the best. Then, next season, when the guy who is the best wants an extension, he wants the highest contract. The Las Vegas Raiders are not immune to this either.

That's how the market works. And, that's even what happened with Maxx Crosby, the Raiders' most valuable and best player. So, oftentimes, it's good to get those extensions and contracts done earlier, or as early as possible, I should say, so you're not the one having to pay even more because another player got paid first.

When the Raiders went about finding a new regime this offseason, it became clear that they wanted a head coach and general manager pairing with experience in a successful system. They hired Pete Carroll, a former Super Bowl winner with the Seattle Seahawks, and John Spytek, who also won a Super Bowl with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Spytek, though, didn't have any experience in this current role. He just had experience as an assistant GM, so he got to see Bucs GM Jason Licht do some really good things for that franchise. Coming into his first offseason, we weren't sure what to expect from Spytek.

But he's already made one of the best decisions he could have made, and it was one of his first. Now, he looks like a genius.

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John Spytek giving Maxx Crosby an extension when he did was genius

At the beginning of the offseason, Spytek made sure to lock down Crosby on an extension. It was the first big thing he did. And, it was the best thing he did, and now he looks like a genius. At that time, Spytek made Crosby the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history. And, Crosby deserved, and still does, every single penny.

Crosby signed a three-year, $106.5 million contract, including $91.5 million guaranteed, and an average annual salary of $35.5 million. And, with a cap hit of $38 million in 2025, a year where they could still spend more money if they wanted to, Spytek found a way to get the cap hit to $28 million by 2029. This opens up more possibilities for better roster construction down the road if the Raiders start to get better and need a better roster to compete in the postseason, because they're likely not winning much this year. So, Spytek offloaded that money early to help later on in the "rebuild," or whatever it is that Carroll wants to call this.

Not to mention, Crosby and the Raiders have a potential out on the contract for 2028, in case they are still a bad team and he wants to go to a contender. And, that out will have $0 dead money. Spytek really showed out with that contract, looking like a genius.

But Crosby, being the highest paid, did not last long. Shortly after that, like the next day or two, Cleveland Browns edge rusher Myles Garrett got a new deal to make him the highest-paid non-quarterback. Garrett signed a four-year, $160 million contract with the Cleveland Browns, including $21.5 million signing bonus, $123,596,125 guaranteed, and an average annual salary of $40 million.

Now, on Thursday, the Pittsburgh Steelers gave T.J. Watt a contract extension. Watt signed a three-year, $123 million contract with the Pittsburgh Steelers, including $108 million guaranteed, and an average annual salary of $41 million. In 2025, Watt will earn a base salary of $21 million.

Those are arguably the three best edge rushers in the league, no matter what order you want to put them in. So, any one of the m could be the highest paid at their position, because that's just how the league and market work.

So, yeah, Spytek now looks like a genius, and it's only his first year as a general manager.

Ashton Jeanty being selected by the Raiders would be going against the grain for Pete Carroll and John Spytek

The Raiders could literally do anything.