Kolton Miller says he wants to spend his entire career with the Raiders. What would that cost Vegas?
The Las Vegas Raiders have had quite the offseason so far. They traded for quarterback Geno Smith, hired Pete Carroll as their head coach, and made a splash in the draft by taking Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty at No. 6 overall.
As they look ahead to training camp, there are still a few under-the-radar pieces of business, namely an extension for cornerstone left tackle Kolton Miller.
Miller, 29, signed a three-year, $54 million rookie extension back in 2021. He’ll now be in the final year of his deal in 2025, earning a $12.255 million salary.
In that timeframe, the tackle market has continued to be reset, with Tristan Wirfs now having the top deal at five years, $140.6 million.
Miller has sought a new contract this offseason, holding out during the voluntary part of the offseason program. But, he was present for the first day of OTAs and acknowledged his desire to stay in Las Vegas during mandatory minicamp.
“I want to be a Raider for life,” Miller said. “I love it here. I don’t want to go anywhere else. I only know one way to do it, and that’s showing up and getting better each day.”
Now, it’s unclear whether an extension will come before the season or whether the Raiders will wait until next year after Miller didn’t have the best 2024 campaign coming off shoulder surgery.
But, the left tackle has missed just seven games in his seven-year career, while being a bookend for the Raiders at the position since being drafted with the No. 15 overall pick in 2018.
So, let’s project what a Miller extension could look like if the two sides can come to an agreement this offseason.
Baseline numbers for a Raiders’ Kolton Miller extension
As mentioned above, the market has continued to be reset since Miller’s last extension. Currently, his $12.255 million salary for the 2025 season would rank 11th among left tackles alone.
While teams are usually wary of handing out long-term extensions to players on the wrong side of 30, offensive linemen generally have a longer shelf life, and we’ve seen quite a few deals to the top players at the position over 30 years old.
Namely, Trent Williams signed a three-year, $82.66 million deal last offseason with the San Francisco 49ers at age 36. Lane Johnson got a one-year, $25 million extension this year with the Philadelphia Eagles at age 34. Atlanta Falcons left tackle Jake Matthews signed a two-year, $45 million extension at age 33. Denver Broncos tackle Garrett Bolles got a four-year, $82 million extension at age 32.
Looking at where Miller’s age group is, both Taylor Decker (Detroit Lions) and Ronnie Stanley (Baltimore Ravens) got three-year, $60 million deals with their respective teams at age 30. While both players might be better than Miller generally, the Raiders tackle has been healthier, which could be a difference.
But, that latter group seems to be where Miller should fall contractually, which would put him in the Top 15 for tackles overall.
Projecting a Kolton Miller deal with the Raiders
As stated above, it’s unclear whether Miller will earn his extension before the start of the season or next year after another ‘prove-it’ season to show he’s back to his old self.
If it ends up being this offseason, Miller could earn a three-year deal, keeping him in Las Vegas through his age-33 season. That would allow him to potentially earn another contract, while keeping him with the Raiders through his prime.
That $20 million-per-year range makes sense, and Miller could eclipse the three-year, $60.06 million deal that Dion Dawkins signed with the Buffalo Bills at age 29, which is slightly above the extensions that Taylor Decker and Ronnie Stanley got this offseason.
With the salary cap continuing to rise, Miller may end up actually taking a lesser percentage of the cap than his peers, which could also be beneficial for the Raiders.
Guaranteed money will be important as always. Decker got two years ($31.83 million) fully guaranteed at signing. Dawkins essentially got $38.205 million fully guaranteed, as his 2025 bonuses were likely to trigger. Stanley, on the other hand, got $44 million fully guaranteed.
For Miller, two fully guaranteed years would make sense as well. The Raiders could give him a larger signing bonus to spread across an extra year, given that he still has one year left on his current contract.
But, regardless, a three-year extension would make the most sense here, putting him on par with a number of his peers at the top of the tackle position.
Projection: 3 years, $60.3 million, $40 million in total guarantees