Details emerge on Davante Adams new contract with new NFL team

On Thursday night, details have emerged on star wide receiver Davante Adams’ new contract with the Las Vegas Raiders. Per ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Raiders are giving him a five-year deal that will make him the highest paid wide receiver in the NFL. Per ESPN’s Rob Demovsky, the Packers were willing to pay Adams an equal amount to what the Raiders were in the deal, but Adams preferred to play elsewhere. Aaron Rodgers was aware of these developments, too. The blockbuster trade for Adams is one of the biggest, if not the biggest acquisition of the 2022 off-season. Clearly, his presence in Green Bay will be missed dearly, as he had incredible chemistry with Aaron Rodgers over the years.

Over the past five years, amongst all NFL receivers, Davante Adams ranked first in the most receiving yards: (6,195), first in most receiving touchdowns (57), and first in most 100-plus yard receiving games (26).

Now, Adams will be reunited with an old college teammate, Derek Carr. When the tandem suited up together for the Fresno State Bulldogs in 2013, the team went 11-3 and spent the majority of the season in the AP Top 25. Carr completed 68.9 percent of his passes for 5,083 passing yards, while tossing in 50 touchdowns and eight interceptions. Adams snatched 131 catches for 1,719 yards and 24 touchdowns.

Adams couldn’t come to contract terms with the Green Bay Packers and now, he’s headed to Las Vegas in one of the biggest trades of the 2022 offseason. The Packers will receive two picks in the 2022 NFL Draft, including a first and second rounder, in exchange for Adams, per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.

Additional information came out on Tuesday about what exactly caused the contract dispute between Davante Adams and the Green Bay Packers. The two sides were not agreeing on the financial terms of his new deal, as well as the proposed length. Adams had been adamant about not wanting to play under a franchise tag, and reports indicate that he was seeking a deal that would make him the highest paid receiver in the league ahead of DeAndre Hopkins of the Arizona Cardinals.

Davante Adams contract dispute details

“Packers offered Davante Adams over $23M per year – highest ever for a WR – but declined it,” stated NFL insider Jordan Schultz. “The NFLPA’s ‘new money average’ says the highest ever is DeAndre Hopkins at over $27M. However, that was 2 extra years added to a 3-year deal and has skewed market significantly.”

According to Schultz, the fundamental issue at the moment is about the value of his contract in a receiver market that was greatly affected by Hopkins’ contract extension. Hopkins signed a two-year contract extension worth $54,500,000, including a $27,500,000 signing bonus, $60,050,000 guaranteed, and an average annual salary of $27,250,000.

The problem the Packers are facing is a matter of perspective, says Schultz. While Hopkins’ contract does technically come to a total value of over $27 million per year, the difference between his situation and Adams is why the Cardinals were able to secure that much money for Hopkins. The Hopkins extension was a team-friendly deal where a large portion of Hopkins’ money was tied into restructuring bonuses to help the Cardinals avoid a catastrophic cap situation.

While Hopkins is receiving his two-year, $54 million deal, Adams feels that he’s entitled to the same level of payment for his talents. If the Packers were to increase his proposed offer, the deal that Adams receives could be another market-shifting amount. Additionally, if Green Bay is interested in securing Adams to a long-term deal for around five years, that would eat into a significant amount of Adam’s prime NFL years. Flexibility and money both appear to be the goal for Adams.

“This is the same disagreement the two sides had last year when they broke off talks,” added WI Sports Heroics‘ Robin Adams.

On3’s Austin Brezina also contributed to the article.