The wording in Marcus Mariota's contract is extremely important to both Mariota and the Titans, this has caused some friction. The team feels that offset language (allows a team to recapture guaranteed money if the player is released and signs with another team) is a huge necessity probably because of the size of Mariota's rookie contract. If the Titans give up on the offset language then Mariota could potentially make money from that deal and any other deal in the future if he gets released.

Mariota is also probably thinking that he should be allowed to have a contract without offset language in order to make the most money because who knows how long he wants to be with the terrible Titans. The big fear of the Titans is if they back away from offset language then other future first round picks may object to it as well making it unnecessary and potentially hurting the franchise down the road.

The Titans have been in rebuilding mode for quite a while so being so fervent on giving their players especially one that could be a star, team friendly contracts is necessary. This is apparently the only thing left in the contract that is preventing Mariota from signing.