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Recent league news has John Spytek and the Raiders completely flipping a narrative and making themselves look great

Originally posted on A to Z Sports | By Justin Churchill | Last updated May 20, 2025 12:10 AM ET

When the Las Vegas Raiders gave Geno Smith, the former Seattle Seahawks quarterback and new Raiders quarterback, his contract extension, fans and media alike were all very unimpressed.

It felt like everyone thought that Smith was being overpaid, considering he has only had a few good seasons after being a career backup with the New York Jets, New York Giants, and Los Angeles Chargers. But Pete Carroll, his former head coach, and John Spytek believe in his abilities.

When you look at how the contract is all spread out, all of the numbers for every single year, it's a pretty good contract for the Raiders. Smith's dead money this season is $58 million, and it only goes down; the same with the cap hit, which is at $40 million this season. For the 2026 season, the Raiders have a potential out on Smith's contract, and according to Spotrac, there's zero dead money if they do decide to get out of the deal then.

Smith only got a two-year extension worth $75 million, making his annual salary $35.5 million per year, the 18th-highest in the league. The way fans complained, you would think he was the highest-paid QB in the league, but, he's nowhere near it, and if you ask me, he's certainly better than the 18th-best QB in the league.

But some recent news now puts into perspective just how good that deal is for the Raiders.

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49ers extend QB Brock Purdy

Purdy is a pretty good quarterback. I mean, just last year in 2023, he was able to take his team to the Super Bowl, where, unfortunately for him, the San Francisco 49ers lost to the Kansas City Chiefs. But he got there nonetheless.

He's won some pretty big playoff games and made some pretty big throws, throws that a seventh-round quarterback should not be able to make. And, he's very calm and composed in the pocket and late in games. Purdy is one of the better quarterbacks in the league.

If you want to go off pure skill and talent, and take away the teams they are on and the players they have been surrounded by, Smith is the much better quarterback, yet, now Purdy is being paid far more than him. It really puts Smith's contract into perspective.

The #49ers and QB Brock Purdy agreed to terms on a five-year, $265 million contract extension, his agent Kyle Strongin of @RangeSports tells The Insiders.

Purdy gets $181M in total guarantees, including $165.05M in the first three new years of a deal that runs through 2030. pic.twitter.com/kX5EhkO0rl
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) May 16, 2025

On Sunday, Purdy signed a contract extension for five years, $265 million, with an AAV of $53 million per year. That makes him the sixth-highest-paid quarterback in the league, just below guys like Joe Burrow, Josh Allen, Jordan Love, Dak Prescott, and Trevor Lawrence. I'm not sure he is as good as or anywhere near any of those, and he's certainly not better than a handful of the guys he's ahead of, like Patrick Mahomes and Lamar Jackson.

He's not better than Smith, yet he's being paid nearly $20 million more per year. So, Raiders fans, are you happy with the Smith deal now?

This article first appeared on A to Z Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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