If quarterback Daunte Culpepper is as successful throwing passes as he is negotiating deals, the Raiders are going to be happy they signed him.
Acting as his own agent, Culpepper negotiated a one-year deal Tuesday night with the Raiders that could be worth as little as $750,000 or as much as $5.5 million, which just happens to be the salary that Miami had been scheduled to pay him this season.
Culpepper's contract calls for him to make $750,000 in guaranteed money. If he's on the Raiders roster the first game of the season, he'll make $2.6 million and that will increase to $3.2 million after six games.
Culpepper also has up to $500,000 in play-time incentives and another $1.65 in hard-to-earn performance and play-time incentives.
If Culpepper has a Pro-Bowl caliber year and the Raiders win the Super Bowl, the quarterback would make $5.5 million. In the event the Raiders do not win the Super Bowl but Culpepper still plays well, he could make up to $4 million this season.
But if Culpepper shows strong this year -- and he's expecting he will -- then the real riches really await. Culpepper is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent after this season.
