Report: Offset Languange Could Holdup Contract Talks Between Titans & Marcus Mariota

Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, citing a league source, reports that the Titans and No. 2 overall pick QB Marcus Mariota plan to begin working on his contract Monday.

While rookie contracts have become pretty straight forward deals following the most recent CBA agreement, Florio mentions that offset language could be a potential snag between the two parties in this negotiation.

Florio points out that only one player drafted in the top-10 picks has managed to secure a deal that includes no offests, which essentially prevent a player from double-dipping in the event he’s waived before his rookie deal is up.

One of the issues for Mariota’s negotiating position is that No. 1 overall pick Jameis Winston ultimately caved on this issue and agreed to offsets being included in his rookie contract.

Interestingly enough, Jaguars DE Dante Fowler, who sustained a season-ending knee injury, is the only player drafted in the top 10 that didn’t receive offsets in his rookie contract.

According to OverTheCap.com, Mariota is projected to receive a four-year contract worth $24,213,974, which includes a signing bonus of $15,870,164.

The Titans have already said that they plan on Mariota receiving the bulk of the first-team reps this summer, but there’s still a chance that Zach Mettenberger could push him for the starting job. .

During his three years at Oregon, Mariota threw for 10,796 yards while completing 66.8 percent of his passes to go along with 105 touchdowns and just 14 interceptions.

We’ll have more regarding contract talks between the Titans and Mariota as the news is available.