Derek Carr passed for 1,246 yards and 12 touchdowns as a sophomore for Clements High School, and then had 1,622 yards and 16 touchdowns as a junior, where he led his team to an undefeated 13–0 season.

Thanks to his impressive play, Carr received heavy recruitment interest during his junior season from Fresno State, SMU, Boise State, the University of Southern California, UCLA, and Utah.

Ultimately, he verbally committed to Fresno State on May 25, 2008, at the end of his junior year. 

Derek Carr started three seasons at Fresno State, amassing 12,843 passing yards and 113 touchdowns. He won the MWC Offensive Player of the Year for his play during the  2012 season. Carr received the 2013 CFPA Elite QB Award for his performance over three seasons at Fresno State. 

In the 2013 season, Carr led the FBS with 5,083 yards and 50 touchdowns.

He finished in 8th place in the Heisman Trophy voting, and also led Fresno State to an MWC Conference Championship.

Derek Carr was selected by the Oakland Raiders in the second round of the 2014 NFL Draft with the 36th overall pick, making him was the fourth quarterback to be selected that year. 

Two years later, Carr replaced Aaron Rodgers in the 2016 Pro Bowl, making him the first Raiders quarterback to be named to the Pro Bowl since Rich Gannon in 2002.

After two seasons, Carr had 53 career touchdown passes, the second-most by a quarterback in his first two seasons, behind Dan Marino's 68. 

In 2017, Carr signed a five-year, $125 million contract extension with $40 million fully guaranteed, $70 million in total guarantees and a $12.5 million signing bonus. This deal surpassed Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck's contract as the league's highest-paid player in terms of average money per year at the time.

Carr finished the 2019 season with 4,054 passing yards, 21 passing touchdowns, and eight interceptions as the Raiders finished with a 7–9 record.