It’s a done deal. The Raiders and tackle Donald Penn have agreed to a two-year, $21MM extension, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets.
The new deal will give him guarantees that go into the 2018 season. In addition to that, he could get guarantees in 2019 based on how well he plays this year.
Penn was a summer holdout, but he reported to the team near the end of August. The 34-year-old came back to the Raiders without the deal he wanted, but they took care of him roughly three weeks later. Initially, he was slated to earn a $5.8MM base salary for 2017 before reaching free agency.
Penn didn’t quite reach the top ten money he was seeking, but his new money average of $10.5MM isn’t far off from Andrew Whitworth‘s $11.25MM average annual value. His previous deal’s average annual value had him outside of the top 20 tackles in the NFL, so it’s a clear step up.
Over the last ten years, Penn has not missed a single regular season game. Last year, he graded out as Pro Football Focus’ No. 12 tackle in the NFL.
I like how the raiders handle this. He decided to hold out, team tells him they won’t negotiate if he’s not there, ends the holdout, and they get it done