It's official: Darren McFadden is a very wealthy man. Last night he and his agent inked a 6 year, $60 million contract with the Raiders that includes $26 million in guaranteed money. Not too shabby!
Perhaps most impressively, they closed the deal with speed that resembled one of D-Mac's bursts to the end zone...it was the first time Oakland had signed their #1 pick before July since Napoleon Kaufman in 1995, and is a notable change of pace from JaMarcus Russell's interminable holdout from the year before.
Speaking of Kaufman, the former Raiders star is a McFadden fan already, saying "I, obviously, appreciate his speed and his elusiveness, his versatility. He seems to be an athlete that not only is going to contribute in the running game but also in the passing game. So, there's great potential with this young man. I'm excited to watch him this year."
As for how the money will affect him or his relationships with his teammates, McFadden stayed true to his Southern roots with a display of good manners: "I just go in there being humble about it. I'm not the type of person that's going to be in there with a big head, or bragging, or anything like that." (Read more from the interview.)
My personal favorite D-Dawg news, though, is his blog post about his house hunting process. As someone who's spent the better part of this year doing the exact same thing (occasionally to the detriment of my blogging...apologies), I can identify with him...the Bay Area housing market is intense. Something tells me he'll be able to find something good with that $60 million, though.