National Football League

Jimmy Garoppolo's Raiders contract reportedly allows team to void deal

Published May. 29, 2023 3:25 p.m. ET

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Jimmy Garoppolo's future in Las Vegas is already in question before he even plays in a game with the Raiders.

The contract the quarterback signed in March includes a waiver and release clause that would allow the team to release Garoppolo without charge if he doesn't pass a physical, according to documents obtained by Pro Footall Talk.

The clause, titled Addendum G, specified that Garoppolo wouldn't have been able to sign his deal without a waiver because of the left foot injury he suffered with the San Francisco 49ers in December. Garoppolo initially didn't need surgery for the injury as it wasn't deemed a Lisfranc fracture at the time, but he underwent surgery after signing his contract with the Raiders in March. The surgery caused Garoppolo to miss at least the start of organized team activities and will reportedly likely sideline him until the start of training camp at the earliest. 

While the waiver was used to pass the initial contract between Garoppolo and the Raiders, Garoppolo lost money he was originally set to receive. The injury caused the Raiders to take away the $11.25 million signing bonus the two sides initially agreed to. 

Garoppolo still has $33.75 million guaranteed on the three-year contract he signed with the Raiders. He won't receive that money until he passes a physical, though. The results of the physical will be determined by a team doctor and Garoppolo has the right to seek a second opinion, the clause stated. With the $11.25 million signing bonus being removed from his contract, Garoppolo will have a $22.5 million base salary and his cap hit will rise to $23.8 million in 2023, per Spotrac. 

In the clause, Garoppolo acknowledged any further risk of injury to his foot from playing football, waiving all responsibility of the Raiders, the NFL and other league-related entities, according to a document shared by the NFL Network. 

The waiver will void if Garoppolo passes a physical and is active for a game during the 2023 season, according to Pro Football Talk. 

News of Garopppolo's foot surgery broke prior to a Raiders organized team activity session on Thursday. Raiders coach Josh McDaniels didn't seem too concerned about the situation when asked about it at his press conference that day. 

"We don’t play a game for 100 days," McDaniels told reporters. "Everything that’s happened since we signed Jimmy, we knew ahead of time. … Certainly had an awareness of all of it. Our preference is not to push it and rush anybody back at this point in time."

The Raiders' signing of Garoppolo was the first of a few moves they made in the offseason to reshape their quarterback room after releasing longtime starter Derek Carr. They signed veteran backup QB Brian Hoyer and drafted Purdue's Aidan O'Connell. The clause in Garoppolo's contract makes it possible that either the 37-year-old Hoyer or fourth-round rookie O'Connell could be the team's starting quarterback to open the season. 

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