Maxx Crosby wanted to earn his $106.5 million contract.
When John Spytek became the Las Vegas Raiders general manager, he had to address Maxx Crosby's contract. He was up for a big payday, and he got one. The Raiders gave Crosby a historic $106.5 million contract, which can reset the defensive end market.
Before the big day, though, Crosby and Spytek had some tough conversations. The Raiders general manager explained that Crosby would need not to go 100% on every play, according to SI's Albert Breer.
For a football guy like Crosby, that's tough to hear. He prides himself on being locked in from the first to the last play of the game. However, Spytek is seeing the bigger picture. He wants Crosby to be available and fully ready if Las Vegas makes a playoff push.
After the Raiders traded for Geno Smith and signed a contract extension, it's clear that the team wants to win. They found common ground on a full guarantee of $32 million in 2025, $30 million in ‘26, and an injury guarantee of $29.5 million for ‘27 that would vest as a full guarantee next March. He elaborated on what the guarantee means.
“I really can’t say by 27, I would’ve imagined signing two $100 million deals,” he says. “I always had a delusional belief in what I could be. Before anybody else believed in me and before I got the hype and the love and the respect, I was doing it by myself, and I had to prove it every day.
“I knew deep down I was put on this planet to be in this position. I know my heart. I know my work ethic. I know my obsession with being the greatest at what I do.
Maxx Crosby's contract shows John Spytek's trust to the Raiders
Signing a defensive player to that lucrative of a deal has to be for good reason. Luckily for Las Vegas, Crosby is one of the best players not just at his position, but in the league.
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He is a four-time Pro Bowler, but missed out this season due to only playing in 12 games. When he was healthy, though, Crosby was one of the top defensive players in the league.
He had 7.5 sacks, and a whopping 17 tackles for loss. The previous two seasons, he led the league in that metric.
Going back to Spytek's trust though, Crosby had to prove that trust to himself. The Raiders star explained why he's tougher on himself than anyone else.
“I’ve never lost belief in that. That doesn’t mean that everything is rainbows and butterflies. But I’ve never quit. Every time it gets hard, I think of it as an opportunity to get better, even though that's the hardest thing to do.
“This money is not for what I’ve done; it's for what they believe I’m going to do. I plan on being the best in the world at what I do. I’m very much looking forward to that.”
Crosby will hope to keep that momentum alive for himself, and the Raiders heading into next season.
