Michael Clemens/Las Vegas Raiders
Las Vegas Raiders tight end Darren Waller (83) on the field for practice at 2020 Training Camp at Intermountain Healthcare Performance Center, Wednesday, August 12, 2020, in Henderson, Nev.
Saturday, Aug. 15, 2020 | 2 a.m.
When the Raiders signed Darren Waller to a big-money contract extension in the middle of last season, the consensus was that it was a fair deal, despite Waller’s limited track record and history of personal problems.
In the wake of the past 48 hours, however, it has become pretty clear that Mike Mayock acted prudently in locking up his star tight end as early as possible.
San Francisco’s George Kittle reset the market at the position on Thursday, signing a five-year deal worth $75 million, and Travis Kelce followed later the same day by signing an extension with the Chiefs worth $57.25 million over four years. That puts Kittle, widely regarded as the NFL’s top all-around tight end, at $15 million per season, while Kelce checks in just behind him at $14.3 million per year.
For comparison, Waller, who signed his extension after Week 5 of the 2019 season, will make an average of $7.5 million per season for the next four years, according to spotrac.com.
Waller had good things to say about Kittle and Kelce and their new contracts when he met with the media after Friday’s training camp session.
“Those are incredible [contracts] for the tight end position,” Waller said. “They’re definitely breaking the market to say the least. I feel like both of them deserve it.”
Reliability is the main reason the Raiders were able to secure Waller’s services at such a discount. While Kittle and especially Kelce have performed at an All-Pro level for years, Waller just enjoyed his breakthrough campaign in 2019. Give credit to Mayock and Jon Gruden for recognizing that Waller’s first six games last year weren’t a fluke, as they were willing to lock him up before he even finished up his 90-catch, 1,145-yard season.
Those numbers stack up well compared to Kittle (85 catches, 1,053 yards in 2019) and Kelce (97 catches 1,229 yards). And seeing as how Waller is entering his age-28 season (and a low-mileage 28 at that, as he caught just 29 passes prior to last year), the odds are decent that he’ll continue to produce through the end of the contract.
Gruden certainly seems to regard Waller as being in the same tier as Kittle and Kelce.
“He’s a superstar,” Gruden said. “He’s a great tight end. I know two tight ends got paid a lot of money [Thursday]; we’re happy to have our guy. He can do it all. He can block, he can run any route.”
What was a reasonable (if risky) extension at the time has turned into a great value contract for the Raiders, who now have one of the league’s best at the position under contract until 2024.
Mike Grimala can be reached at 702-948-7844 or [email protected]. Follow Mike on Twitter at twitter.com/mikegrimala.
