‘They Said I Owed Them Money’: Former No. 1 Draft Pick-Turned NFL’s Biggest Bust Reveals How Oakland Raiders Tried To Make Money Off Him Despite His Tragic Career

Oakland Raiders, the former name of the Las Vegas Raiders, had one of the biggest draft busts in NFL history. The Raiders drafted LSU quarterback JaMarcus Russell in 2007 as the first overall pick in the draft. While JaMarcus struggled the next three years the athlete played in the league, he reveals more about the time he spent at the Oakland Raiders.

Russell in the Pivot Podcast talked about what went wrong, and that he ended up being the biggest draft bust in NFL history. He said, “I wasn’t doing crazy [expletive]. I was trying to chill, relax … and trying to win some football games. Unfortunately, I wasn’t winning. But they dealt me a [expletive] hand. I’m at practice, bro, and these folks couldn’t catch a reverse, bro. Six plays straight, but you want to go downfield and catch a 90-yard pass.”

Russell believes he didn’t get the chance to excel while he played for the Oakland Raiders. He wanted to learn and win the games for them, but there was always something that got in the way.

Oakland Raiders signed a six-year deal with JaMarcus Russell in 2007

The LSU star further said, “No, I didn’t feel that [the Raiders wanted me] at all. Going into that building was like, ‘What’s going to happen today?’ I was getting fined for crazy [expletive]. … They was trying to find ways to get paper back, I thought. Then they said I owed them money. Why would I owe them money? I signed a contract.”

JaMarcus Russell signed a six-year, $61 million contract with the Oakland Raiders, including $32 million guaranteed, and an average annual salary of $10,166,667. But Russell’s time in the league was short-lived as he could play for only three years.

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Russell, in his three-year career, threw for 4,083 yards and completed 345 out of 680 passes. He had 18 touchdowns, 23 interceptions, and a passer rating of 65.2. His best performance was in 2008 when he threw for 2,423 yards and completed 198 out of 368 passes. 

In 2009, Tom Cable became the head coach of the Raiders and he benched Russell in the mid-season. In 2010, the Raiders released him and since then he never played in the NFL. 

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