With a three-year extension worth $106.5 million ($91.5 million guaranteed), Maxx Crosby became the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history Wednesday when he and the Las Vegas Raiders agreed to terms, per league and team sources.

Crosby, who had previously expressed a desire for a new deal, was already under contract through 2026 but had no guaranteed money left on his deal. General manager John Spytek and coach Pete Carroll made it clear at the NFL Scouting Combine last week that they planned to get one done. A team spokesman confirmed that Crosby’s new contract is in addition to his previous deal and he’s now locked in with the Raiders through 2029.

“I am extremely excited and motivated,” Crosby said Wednesday. “I have been here for seven years and it has been a blessing … A lot of people in this building have helped me. I am about to be five years sober in a week and without that, I wouldn’t be here.”

Committed To Excellence. Committed To Silver & Black.

Limitless. 🦅🏴‍☠️ pic.twitter.com/VyYqWplzbe

— Maxx Crosby (@CrosbyMaxx) March 5, 2025

Crosby is coming off a down year by his standards. He missed five games — the first time he missed any action during his six-year career — due to a nagging high-ankle sprain that ultimately required season-ending tightrope surgery on his left foot. He still put together a solid season with 45 tackles, 7.5 sacks and 17 tackles for loss, but wasn’t himself for much of the season. That didn’t discourage the Raiders from making a massive long-term commitment to the former first-team All-Pro pass rusher, who will turn 28 ahead of the 2025 season and is in his prime.

“This is a big commitment and there is no one we’d rather do it with than Maxx,” Spytek said. “And what he stands for … the way he plays the game and the passion — that’s what coach and I have talked about and actions are louder than words.”

Crosby’s 59.5 sacks are the third most in Raiders history, and his four Pro Bowl selections are tied for the second most for a defensive end in franchise history.

“He fits perfectly and we’re so proud to have Maxx be a part of this organization,” Carroll said Wednesday. “But he knows this is just the start of this … this is a great day for us.”

Minority owner Tom Brady was present at the team facility in Henderson, Nev. when Crosby signed his contract Wednesday, according to a league source. Brady has been heavily involved in the Raiders’ decision-making process — whether in the search process that led up to hiring Spytek and Carroll or with roster decisions — so his presence is not a surprise, but it’s still noteworthy as it’s a signal that he’ll be present in the building this offseason.

This type of deal — one with a large signing bonus to spread out the cap hit over the duration of the contract — is one that the Raiders were incapable of doing for much of their tenure in Oakland and even their early years in Las Vegas. Their cash situation had already improved dramatically since relocating to Las Vegas in 2020 — that’s how the Raiders signed defensive tackle Christian Wilkins to a four-year, $110 million contract with $82.75 million last year — and controlling owner Mark Davis injected the franchise with yet another influx of cash by selling 25.5 percent of the franchise in 2024.

“I really want to thank Mark Davis and the ownership group for making this possible. This was obviously a big commitment, and it’s not lost on us how big that is, but there’s no one we’d rather do it with than Maxx and what he stands for and the way he plays the game and the passion,” Spytek said Wednesday. “Actions are louder than words, and Maxx deserves that credit. … We didn’t have to do Maxx right now, but it made sense. … I told him last night, ‘This isn’t for what you’ve done; this is about what you’re about to do. He’s about chasing championships, and so are we.”

In addition to Crosby, the Raiders also signed former Cincinnati Bengals guard Alex Cappa to a two-year, $11 million contract Wednesday, according to team sources. Cappa started all 50 regular season games for the Bengals since joining them in 2022. He’s coming off a rough year, but he’s a durable, experienced veteran who overlapped with Spytek with the Tampa Bay Bucs from 2018-2021.

Las Vegas currently has three guards on the roster: Cappa, Dylan Parham and Jordan Meredith, who the Raiders are expected to re-sign Wednesday. Jackson Powers-Johnson played 476 snaps at left guard last season, according to TruMedia, but he also played 401 at center. It’s currently unclear which position Powers-Johnson will play moving forward.

If Powers-Johnson plays center, then that increases the likelihood that Cappa could assume a starting role at guard. The Raiders are aware that Cappa is coming off of a down year, particularly in pass protection, but they believe part of that was due to the Bengals passing the ball 652 times (second-most in the NFL), according to a team source. The feeling is he can at least be a high-level backup to round out the interior offensive line rotation.

Required reading

(Photo: Candice Ward / Getty Images)