After the Las Vegas Raiders’ shocking decision to release Christian Wilkins on Thursday, a legal battle was inevitable. The NFL Players Association, in the middle of its own bit of chaos, filed a grievance on behalf of Wilkins against the Raiders.
This is a situation with multiple layers, including the football side of things with what transpired between Wilkins and the Raiders, as well as the financial side as it pertains to the grievance. Although more details are likely to emerge as the case progresses, let’s examine where things stand and where they’re headed.
What kind of grievance was filed?
This might seem like a minor detail, but it’s an important one. There are two types of grievances a player can file. There is an injury grievance and a noninjury grievance. Wilkins has filed a noninjury grievance against the Raiders.
The root of the issue is the Jones fracture Wilkins suffered last year, his first season with the Raiders after leaving the Miami Dolphins and signing a four-year, $110 million contract, with $84.75 million guaranteed. As reported by The Athletic, the Raiders informed Wilkins before OTAs that he needed a second surgery on his foot after his recovery from the Jones fracture — which typically takes three to four months — surpassed the standard timeline. Wilkins did not get a second procedure and opted to continue his rehab.
The Raiders catapulted the response from Wilkins into their decision to release him, but that is not what the grievance is about. The grievance is regarding the Raiders’ decision to void the remaining $35.2 million of guaranteed money left on his contract.
What was the deadline to file the grievance?
When filing an injury grievance, a player “must file within twenty-five (25) days of when he is released by the club,” according to the league’s collective bargaining agreement. But Wilkins’ grievance is a noninjury one, the same category in which players fight fines that are imposed by a club. And the language for that states “a player must file within fifty (50) days from the date the dispute arises.”
The NFLPA filed the grievance Thursday, which was the final day it could do so. Given that the Raiders released Wilkins on Thursday, how does that work? And why did the clock start ticking on June 4? That was the date the Raiders voided Wilkins’ remaining guaranteed money, a league source confirmed to The Athletic’s Tashan Reed.
The Raiders’ statement after Wilkins’ release mentioned “no clear path or plan to return to play from Christian,” and coach Pete Carroll echoed those sentiments when speaking to the media Friday.
“It took a long time to make our decision,” Carroll said. “I think there was no clear path to his return. So, we just had to move on.”
What’s the disputed sum?
The Raiders have already paid Wilkins nearly $50 million, for which Wilkins has played in five games. That includes his original signing bonus of $24 million and his first-year base salary of $5 million, plus a $20.5 million roster bonus this season they converted into a signing bonus for salary-cap purposes. Regardless of whether the Raiders win or lose the grievance, there will be cap ramifications they have to deal with for the next couple of years based on those two bonuses that are prorated over the next four years.
When the new league year began in March, Wilkins’ $8 million salary for 2025 became fully guaranteed, as did his $27.25 million for 2026. That’s the $35.2 million guaranteed that was voided — meaning they’d have to pay that to him only if he’s on the roster. Beyond fighting for Wilkins’ pockets and recouping that large sum, the NFLPA will be especially adamant to win the grievance so as not to set a precedent for a team’s ability to take money away from players over disagreements in how a recovery is approached.
What’s next?
The next step in the process is for an arbitrator to conduct a hearing, which hasn’t been scheduled yet. Barring any specific language in the Wilkins contract, the Raiders will have an uphill battle to fight.
The Raiders were at the center of a grievance recently when Antonio Brown’s short, tumultuous stint in Oakland in 2019 ended with his release and the Raiders voiding $30 million in guaranteed salary. The Raiders were in a strong position to win that dispute, especially after providing text-message evidence that Brown requested his release. The receiver filed nine grievances over various voided salaries that year by the Raiders and New England Patriots, who signed Brown shortly after his Raiders release but cut him 11 days later. In his filings against the Patriots, the two sides eventually came to a settlement in which Brown was awarded $5 million of the $9 million signing bonus he was seeking to recoup.
While this case goes on in the courts, Wilkins will be able to take visits around the league and sign with a team, should a team be satisfied with his medical situation pending a physical.
After speaking with a few teams tonight, it sounds like the next step for Christian Wilkins will be taking visits and undergoing physicals with potential suitors.
One HC emphasized “He’s not healthy enough to play for the Raiders… Something must not be right”— Dianna Russini (@DMRussini) July 25, 2025
(Photo: Cooper Neill / Getty Images)
