The Raiders flashed a massive deal to coax Chip Kelly to leave Ohio State.
The Las Vegas Raiders snatched their newest offensive coordinator from the national champion Ohio State Buckeyes Sunday. But Chip Kelly returning to the NFL came with a groundbreaking twist with his contract.
Kelly is heading back to the league thanks to Pete Carroll, who named him the new leader of the Raiders offense. Kelly, though, ascended to an immediate title across the league, per NFL insider Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated.
“The Raiders told candidates during their search they were making a serious commitment with an infusion of cash from the new owners. Chip Kelly was lured to Vegas with a deal averaging $6 million per year, per sources,” Breer posted on X.
Breer then unveiled Kelly's newest title along with Raiders OC.
“Kelly is now the NFL's highest-paid coordinator,” Breer shared.
There it is — the Raiders flashed the dollar signs and offered a massive money bag for Kelly. Vegas needed to assure Kelly would earn more than any NFL offensive coordinator just to get him to leave OSU.
What was Chip Kelly's Ohio State contract?
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Kelly is earning a financial elevation with the AFC West franchise. His Buckeyes contract isn't close to what the Raiders plan to pay him.
Ohio State planned to give Kelly a $2.1 million base salary according to the Mansfield News Journal. That number would've represented his 2025 figure. Vegas is raising his dollar amount to a $5.9 million increase.
Kelly looked set to enter the second year of a three-year deal with Ohio State. But he surfaced as a surefire offensive coordinator candidate across the league for his 2024 work.
The former Philadelphia Eagles and San Francisco 49ers head coach created two 1,000-yard running backs in TreVeyon Henderson and Quinshon Judkins. Emeka Egbuka emerged as an 80-catch, 1,000-yard wide receiver under Kelly. The now former Ohio State OC then unleashed prized freshman Jeremiah Smith on defenses — leading to 76 catches for 1,315 yards and 15 touchdowns.
Kelly now gets to fix the league's worst rushing offense from this past season. The Raiders also ranked 27th in total yards and 29th in scoring offense. He's ending a near-decade long absence from the league to help turn around the Silver and Black with Carroll.
