Oakland Raiders Forced to Pay JaMarcus Russell $3 Million

Jun 11, 2013; Alameda, CA, USA; Oakland Raiders coach Dennis Allen at minicamp at the Raiders Practice Facility. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Don’t look now, but former Oakland Raiders quarterback JaMarcus Russell is hot on the NFL comeback trail after solidifying his status as one of the biggest draft busts of all time.

The impact of his performance in Oakland is still being felt.

The Oakland Raiders organization just agreed to pay Russell $3 million over a dispute he and the team had over his rookie contract. Vic Tafur of SFgate.com has all the juicy details:

"Russell was the team’s No. 1 overall draft pick in 2007, signing a 6-year, $68 million contract, and was waived in May 2010 after three unproductive seasons and weight issues.He had been paid $36.4 million and was still owed $3 million at the time of his release. The Raiders filed a grievance against Russell, seeking repayment of $9.55 million in salary advances, and Russell filed a grievance of his own, saying he was owed an additional $9 million.The Raiders’ grievance was based on their contention that the contract was changed at one point during Russell’s time with the organization. But the two sides were set to go to court recently, when a source close to the situation said the Raiders and Russell decided to settle."

As you can see, Russell’s impact on the franchise is still being felt to this day. His contract occurred before the new bargaining agreement set a rookie wage scale in place.

Had this issue taken place with the rookie wage scale in place it would not even be a story. Instead, Oakland was forced to give out a ludicrous amount of money and deal with Russell holding out before becoming one of the biggest busts to grace an NFL field.

Perhaps now the Raiders can officially put the Russell mistake behind them.

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