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Marcus Mariota is happy that he gets to remain as a part of the Las Vegas Raiders going forward despite taking a pay cut to remain with the team.
Via Rob DeMello of KHON2, Mariota said that the chance to stay with the Raiders overcame any concerns over trimming his salary for the upcoming season.
“I think at the end of the day. I focus on controlling what I can control,” Mariota said. “That’s the product in the field. Everyday I wake up, I train and get ready to go. At the end of the day, we’re very blessed to play this game for a living. A lot of us make a really good amount of money. For me, I just love playing the game. The excitement, the opportunity to be a Raider, overcame all of that. To be here in Vegas, to be a part of this organization meant a lot more to me. I’m excited to be able to come back.”
Mariota accepted a deal that cut his salary from $10.725 million to just $3.5 million for this season. It does have incentives included to where he can earn up to $8 million should he get the chance to play and hit performance goals. It’s a rather large chunk that he elected to forego to ensure he remained with the Raiders.
“I think at the end of the day the adversities, the challenges that you face, ultimately will kind of develop who you are. I’m just excited to hopefully get over that hump. I feel like I’ve gotten healthy. I have an opportunity to have a little bit of stability, something that’s kind of been elusive in my career. I’m just excited to be in a place that I’m comfortable. I’m confident. I’m just going to do everything I can help this team win,” Mariota said.
