The took a big step forward this season. Expectations increased as the season progre sed, with the Raiders going from a trendy preseason playoff pick to legitimate Super Bowl contender by midseason. Oakland's fortunes took a turn for the worse when Pro Bowl quarterback was sidelined for the season with a broken right fibula in a Week 16 Christmas Eve game against the . Super Bowl hopes went out the window with Carr's injury. Losing the quarterback was a devastating blow that they couldn't overcome as the Raiders were eliminated from the playoffs in a 27-14 lo s to the in the wild-card round.Overall, the 2016 season was a tremendous succe s for Oakland despite the abrupt ending. The Raiders reached the playoffs for the first time in 14 years, and, with 12 wins, posted their best win total since 2000.A different set of challenges await the Raiders because of their newfound succe s. Here's a look at what's in store for Oakland during the offseason. Relocation resolutionWith the season completed, owner Mark Davis can focus his attention on gaining approval to move the franchise to Las Vegas. The Raiders are expected to file a relocation request in the coming weeks. Davis reportedly will present details of Mason Jones Jersey the Las Vegas plan to the league's finance and stadium committees at a Jan. 11 meeting in New York. A $1.9 billion stadium with $750 million of taxpayer funding already has the backing of the Nevada state legislature and Gov. Brian Sandoval. NFL commi sioner Roger James Harden Jersey Goodell has expre sed a preference for the Raiders to remain in the larger, well-established Bay Area market. A viable stadium plan to keep Raiders in Northern California doesn't exist yet. The Raiders must garner the support of three-fourths of the NFL's 32 owners in order to move. A vote is expected in March at the league owners' meeting in Phoenix. Even if relocation is approved, the stadium in Las Vegas wouldn't be ready to open until 2020. High-priced contract extensionsThe Raiders have been proactive in extending the contracts of core players well in advance of free agency. A substantial amount of effort will be devoted to maintaining this philosophy, since Carr and 2014 fifth-overall pick are now eligible for new contracts. Carr will be a higher priority because he is entering his contract year. Mack won't be in his contract year until 2018 since first-round picks are subject to a fifth-year option, which the Raiders will surely exercise for approximately $13.7 million.Carr, who had an MVP-caliber season, is line for a deal that could eclipse 's five-year, $122.97 million offseason extension with the Colts. Luck reset the NFL pay scale with his deal that averages $24.594 million per year and contains $87 million in guarantees, of which $47 million was fully guaranteed at signing. Mack has been everything the Raiders could have hoped for and more. He followed up a 2015 campaign where he became the first player in NFL history to earn first-team All-Pro honors at two different positions during the same season (defensive end and outside linebacker) with another first team All-Pro selection. He is a leading NFL Defensive Player of the Year candidate this season.The Raiders are facing an extremely unusual situation because of Carr and Mack's succe s. It is rare for teams to have a quarterback on a lucrative contract while also having one of the league's highest paid non-quarterbacks. Among the seven highest paid non-quarterbacks by average yearly salary -- which are ( ), ( ), ( ), ( ), ( ), ( ) and (Texans) -- only the Giants have a quarterback ( ) making at least $20 million per year. Mack appears destined to become the NFL's first non-quarterback to make $20 million per year with at least $75 million in guarantees. Gerald Green Jersey That is provided defensive tackle , who is also eligible for a new deal as a 2014 draftee, doesn't beat him to it. The Rams have a history of giving early extensions to their first-round picks. Donald's deal would serve as Mack's salary floor in this instance. , a 2014 third-round pick, is also eligible for a new deal, which could get put on the back burner. He made a succe sful transition to right guard from left guard while accommodating free agent signee , who Oakland made the NFL's highest-paid guard with a five-year, $58.5 million deal (worth up to $60 million through incentives) containing $25.4 million guaranteed. In order to keep Jackson with the Silver and Black long-term, it will probably require the Raiders becoming one of the rare NFL teams with a heavy financial investment in guards, giving Jackson the going rate of $8 million per year and more than $20 million in guarantees for the second tier of salaries at the position. The are currently the only team with the both members of the guard tandem having contracts average at least $7 million per year. and are at $10 million per year and $7 million per year, respectively. Salary cap and unique contract structureThe top 51 cap numbers on each team count toward the salary cap during the offseason. The Raiders have approximately $123 million in 2017 cap commitments with 54 players under contract, while $8 million of unused cap room is being carried over from the 2016 league year. NFL teams were informed at a December league meeting that the 2017 salary cap is projected to be between $166 million and $170 million. These projections are consistent with the 8 percent annual growth of the salary cap in recent years.Once you Eric Gordon Jersey factor in not-likely-to-be-earned incentives that were achieved, tenders for restricted free agents and exclusive rights players with expiring contracts, and the proven performance escalator for eligible 2014 draft picks, Oakland should have approximately $45.5 million of 2017 cap space, a suming a $168 million salary cap.At least half of Oakland's cap room will likely be devoted to Carr's extension because of general manager Reggie McKenzie's method of structuring contracts. A "pay as you go" model has been utilized with practically all veteran signings. A player's cash and salary cap numbers are the same in each contract year because he is receiving salary guarantees instead of a signing bonus with the "pay as you go" structure. Deals with this structure have higher cap numbers initially because of the absence of a signing bonus. 's five-year, $44.5 million contract, which briefly made him the NFL's highest-paid center in 2015, is a perfect example of this concept. His 2015 cap number was $13 million in his first year of the deal. It dropped Chris Paul Jersey to $7.7 million in 2016 and $6.85 million in 2017 before rising again in the final two years. The "pay as you go" concept isn't embraced by most NFL teams. The and are the most frequent proponents of this structure (to a le ser degree) outside of the Raiders. The Buccaneers adopted the structure first during Mark Dominik's tenure as general manager. Their biggest contracts, as do Jacksonville's, now contain relat