Getty Darren Waller of the Las Vegas Raiders.
A lot of things have gone right for the Las Vegas Raiders this offseason and expectations heading into the season. However, there’s still one nagging situation that needs a resolution soon. Tight end Darren Waller has vastly outperformed his contract and wants a pay raise.
Surprisingly, Waller recently decided to leave Klutch Sports and find different representation. He was only with the agency for less than a year before moving on. It’s unclear why his relationship with the agency soured but he’s been left without an agent. The NFLPA mandates that players wait five days before finding a new agent but it appears that Waller has already made up his mind. According to Vic Tafur of The Athletic, the tight end is planning to hire Drew Rosenhaus to be his agent in the coming days:
Waller had hired Klutch Sports — the agency co-founded by LeBron James — a year ago to help him secure a new contract, but he left the agency on Friday. There is a five-day waiting period in place in case the player changes his mind, but league sources say that won’t be happening and there are rumors that Waller will be hiring Drew Rosenhaus on Wednesday.
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Raiders Discussing Contract With Waller, per Insider
Rosenhaus has been one of the most powerful agents in the NFL for a long time. His past clients include big names like Terrell Owens, Antonio Brown and Chad Johnson while he currently represents Tyreek Hill and J.C. Jackson, among many others. Recently, the Raiders didn’t have the best experience with Rosenhaus when he was representing Brown. Luckily, that was under a different general manager and current general manager Dave Ziegler should be entering any talks with an open mind.
While Waller isn’t technically allowed to hire a new agent yet, it appears that contract negotiations could be kicking into high gear. According to CBS Sports’ Josina Anderson, the Raiders have discussed a deal with Waller that would pay him $16 million a year, which would make him the highest-paid tight end in the NFL.
My understanding is #Raiders TE Darren Waller has had a deal in discussion that would make him the highest paid at his position in terms of at least the new money APY metric at $16M/yr, per league source. Waller is currently in the midst of changing representation.
Insider Doesn’t Believe Waller Wants a Trade
If the Raiders are willing to make Waller the highest-paid tight end in the NFL, then a deal should be finalized soon. It’s not entirely clear if the contract talks that Anderson is reporting on have happened in recent days or were before he move on from Klutch Sports. Regardless, Waller does appear to want to stay in Las Vegas. Tafur doesn’t believe that the tight end is trying to get traded.
“The new agent this week might spark trade rumors, and there were reports of the Packers being interested in trading for Waller back during the draft,” Tafur wrote. “But Waller surely doesn’t want that — he has become a team leader who is active in the Las Vegas community and loves McDaniels’ new offense.”
The fact that Waller likes the team and Las Vegas could work in the Raiders’ favor. If he actually is hiring Rosenhaus, this situation should be resolved soon.
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Raiders Star Hiring Powerful NFL Agent Amid Drama: Report