Category Archives: Contracts

Topic of the day: Futures of Chancellor, Bennett

Salary cap logoThe futures of three Seahawks came into question again Wednesday amid a flurry of reports, making us wonder what the team is going to do with Kam Chancellor, Michael Bennett and Garry Gilliam after this season.

In an ESPN The Magazine piece, Chancellor talked about how his holdout affected the Legion of Boom (something we surmised throughout last season) and how he apologized to Earl Thomas and Richard Sherman for letting them down.

We always figured his holdout was motivated by his constant battle with injuries and desire to have as much financial security as possible, and he shed more light on that thought with this tidbit: He spent three days in the hospital with internal bleeding after the Seahawks’ 43-8 domination of Denver in Super Bowl XLVIII.

While that interview revealed more about Chancellor’s situation, Bennett’s agent sent a cryptic tweet Wednesday that might have referenced contract talks with the Seahawks. The “deal” also could have been some other business, but most think it meant he was talking with John Schneider again — as they reportedly did in July.

Both of Wednesday’s revelations raise the question again: What will the Hawks do with their two defensive leaders?

Continue reading Topic of the day: Futures of Chancellor, Bennett

Bennett earning that raise while injured

bennett-surgeryMichael Bennett has made a bunch of money the past couple of weeks — without playing a down.

If there were any doubt Bennett deserved a raise on his bargain-basement deal, the past three games have wiped it out.

Long upset over his undervalued contract, Bennett nonetheless had showed up and played great for the last two seasons-plus. But now a knee injury has forced him into an involuntary holdout that has shown everyone just how underpaid he is.

Continue reading Bennett earning that raise while injured

Will Graham earn extension like Unger did?

Unger-GrahamA year ago at this time, the Seahawks were preparing to start the season with a shiny new Pro Bowl tight end and a new center, replacing the injury-prone veteran they had traded for the tight end.

The Seahawks were willing to let Max Unger go because he had not been able to stay healthy in the previous two seasons, and they expected Jimmy Graham to enhance their passing game by giving Russell Wilson a big over-the-middle target.

The results were about the opposite of what you might expect. Just as Wilson and Graham were getting into a rhythm, Graham’s season was cut short by a torn patellar tendon. Meanwhile, Unger, who had missed 13 games in 2013 and 2014 for Seattle, started every game for the Saints.

So, as the 2016 season nears, Unger suddenly is the sure thing — receiving a big contract extension from the Saints — and Graham is just trying to get back on the field and prove he merits his own extension after the season.

Continue reading Will Graham earn extension like Unger did?

Carroll: Hawks will do Bennett deal ‘when it makes sense’

Salary cap logoMichael Bennett reportedly came to camp because he expects a reworked contract before the season, but that thinking goes against the Seahawks’ philosophy (no new deal with more than a year left), and Pete Carroll made it sound like nothing is going to happen this year.

Carroll told KJR on Tuesday: “We’d love to have Michael here for a long time. We want him to finish his career with us. We intend to get that done. … It’s something that we’re working at. It’s a very difficult thing to get done.”

Asked whether they would do it this year, the coach declined to answer. “We’re going to do it when we can and when it makes sense.”

Continue reading Carroll: Hawks will do Bennett deal ‘when it makes sense’

Report: Bennett expects new deal before season

Training camp logo2Michael Bennett reportedly expects to have a new deal before the season, which apparently is why he reported to training camp on time.

That is from a nugget at the bottom of an NFL.com report focusing on Bennett’s comments about social issues.

Per NFL.com, “Bennett said he reported to Seahawks training camp on time because he is confident his agent and the Seahawks will work out a new contract soon. Sources close to Bennett told (Michael) Silver that they hope to work out a long-term deal for Bennett before the start of the season.”

Continue reading Report: Bennett expects new deal before season

Will Bennett take the Lynch deferment plan?

Bennett and LynchIt sure looks like Michael Bennett is considering holding out, after all. Why else would his agent come to Seattle on the eve of training camp?

Bennett apparently wants at least $14 million a year, but will he settle for the Marshawn Lynch deferment plan — the deal his new agent, Doug Hendrickson, worked out in 2014?

Per ESPN’s Josina Anderson, Hendrickson and the Seahawks will discuss the Pro Bowl defensive lineman’s “desires” for a new deal this week.

Bennett wants a two- or three-year extension that pays him among the top six or seven defensive linemen in the NFL, Anderson reported. That means at least $14 million per year — double what he is making now.

Continue reading Will Bennett take the Lynch deferment plan?

‘Just get rid of me’? Bennett doesn’t mean it

“If you don’t think I’m valuable, then just get rid of me.” — Michael Bennett

Bennett thanks the football gods

For over a year, Michael Bennett has made clear his dissatisfaction with his contract, which has steadily been overtaken by bigger deals — often to lesser players.

In a recent interview with The Huffington Post, Bennett said, “I just want to be fairly compensated with the top guys in the league. I’m definitely one of the top five defensive ends.”

It’s the same stuff he has said all offseason. But he has grown more frustrated as he has watched a host of defensive linemen get big deals — capped by Von Miller’s recent $114.5 million contract. He also surely took note of the $11 million-per-year deal Doug Baldwin signed with the Hawks.

“It is never-ending, especially when people are getting new contracts every day,” said Bennett, in the third year of a four-year, $28.5 million deal. “You sit there and you’re like, ‘Damn, really?’ I’m just to the point where it’s kind of like, ‘If you don’t think I’m valuable, then just get rid of me.’”

Some will take that as him asking for a trade. But don’t believe it. Bennett was just blowing off some steam.

Continue reading ‘Just get rid of me’? Bennett doesn’t mean it

Expect new deals for Carroll, Schneider before camp

Draft -- Schneider and CarrollNot a big surprise: The Seahawks reportedly have begun contract negotiations with Pete Carroll and John Schneider, who both are in the final year of their deals.

There has been a lot of speculation that both could be interested in leaving the Seahawks for their old stomping grounds — Carroll back to Los Angeles to coach the Rams and Schneider back to Green Bay to run the Packers.

But, they have set up the Seahawks to remain strong Super Bowl contenders for at least two or three more years, so leaving now would make no sense.

Continue reading Expect new deals for Carroll, Schneider before camp

What does Baldwin deal mean for Bennett, 2017?

Salary cap logoEarlier this year, we said 2017 could be another “splash” offseason for John Schneider. But he dived into the deep end early, giving Doug Baldwin a $46 million deal this week.

Now the big question: What does that mean for Seattle’s 2017 salary cap? More important: What does it mean for the underpaid Michael Bennett? And, by extension, what might that mean for the highly paid Jimmy Graham?

Continue reading What does Baldwin deal mean for Bennett, 2017?

Seahawks pay big for another receiver, but at least they know this one

Baldwin signingThree years ago, the Seahawks gave $11 million per year to a wide receiver who had never played a down for them.

No surprise: Like all of the big-money receiver deals Seattle has made over the last decade, Percy Harvin did not work out. On top of that, the Hawks lost Golden Tate, a homegrown receiver they couldn’t afford because they had paid Harvin.

But that didn’t stop the Seahawks from paying big again Tuesday — this time with a guy they had developed from scratch.

It turns out the Seahawks were fine paying Doug Baldwin the bloated market value for wide receivers — more proof that Paul Allen, John Schneider and Pete Carroll are more than fair when it comes to guys they have developed.

Continue reading Seahawks pay big for another receiver, but at least they know this one