Raiders QB Derek Carr has a message for kids: ‘I never chased the money’

Fresh off signing his five-year, $125 million contract extension with the Oakland Raiders, former Fresno State star quarterback Derek Carr delivered a strong message to youth: It’s not about the money.

“It’s very important for me to the kids out there watching this and for them to know that I never chased the money in this whole process,” Carr said Friday at a news conference in Alameda. “It’s something I’m very passionate about. I try to be the best version of myself every single day and give my teammates and this organization everything that I had. It was never going to be about the money for me. If one kid can understand what I’m trying to tell them by saying that, I think I’ve done my job.”

Carr is the NFL’s highest-paid quarterback, at least for now, though he said his agent, Tim Younger, wanted more. “I think that’s plenty,” he said.

Washington’s Kirk Cousins and Detroit’s Matthew Stafford still could sign larger contracts in the coming days. Carr said he doesn’t care if they do: “We got our contract done and that’s all that mattered to me.”

Carr started 15 games this past season and earned his second Pro Bowl selection. He completed 357 of 560 passes (63.8 percent) for 3,937 yards with 28 touchdowns and six interceptions for a passer rating of 96.7.

Carr wanted a figure that would help the Raiders lock up offensive lineman Gabe Jackson, Defensive Player of the Year Khalil Mack and wide receiver Amari Cooper in the coming years.

“We figured out a way to do it so we have the opportunity to sign the other guys that I think are important to this organization. And that was important to me,” he said. “Not to take every single dime that we could and I hope that’s known that, obviously, with the position that I play it has to be around a certain number. … But at the same time I told Tim (Younger) if we could structure it in a way to help the Raiders get the other guys, give them opportunities to come in and that would be really important to me, too.”

Carr said this money “is going to help a lot of people around the world” and thought of his visit to Haiti and the struggles he witnessed.

“I cry just thinking about it,” he said. “Just knowing we can go down there and just make a difference and help … those are the kind of things the money makes me kind of like, ‘Oh, my gosh’ because now we can really do some things and help a lot of people.”

This story was originally published June 23, 2017 at 1:28 PM with the headline "Raiders QB Derek Carr has a message for kids: ‘I never chased the money’."