# Raiders pay the backup tight end

> Brock Bowers is the star, but Michael Mayer just got $45 million while Bowers heads into knee surgery recovery.
- Title: Raiders pay the backup tight end · New York Post | Shortify
- Summary: Brock Bowers is the star, but Michael Mayer just got $45 million while Bowers heads into knee surgery recovery. Las Vegas locked up its TE2 at top-five money…
- Keywords: nfl, raiders, contracts, tight ends, brock bowers, news, entertainment, pay, backup, tight, end, New York Post
- Source: New York Post — https://nypost.com/2026/09/12/sports/raiders-sign-backup-michael-mayer-to-45-million-extension
- Published: 2026-09-12T17:02:47+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: nfl, raiders, contracts, tight ends, brock bowers, news, entertainment
## Not the guy you expected
The Raiders handed a tight end a big extension on Saturday. It went to Michael Mayer, not injured Pro Bowler Brock Bowers.

> The Raiders signed a tight end to a lucrative contract extension Saturday, but it was not injured Pro Bowler Brock Bowers.
## Forty-five million for TE2
Mayer got three years and $45 million with $30 million guaranteed, per Ian Rapoport. That makes him the fifth-highest-paid tight end in football.
## Bowers is on the shelf
Bowers had meniscus surgery on his left knee this week and misses Sunday's opener against Miami. He caught 64 balls for 680 yards and seven scores in 12 games last year.
## The numbers do not match
Mayer's career highs are modest: 35 catches, 328 yards and one touchdown in 13 games last season. Bowers set an NFL rookie record with 112 receptions in 2024.
## Still on his rookie deal
Bowers, the 13th pick out of Georgia in 2024, has two years left on a four-year, $18.1 million contract. He is being paid like a prospect, not a record breaker.
## A market moving fast
Green Bay gave Tucker Kraft four years and $92 million the same day. Mayer's $15 million a year trails only Kittle, McBride, Kraft and Pitts.
## Key takeaway

Las Vegas locked up its TE2 at top-five money while its record-setting TE1 still plays on a rookie deal, and that bill is coming.