Category Archives: Contracts

A tale of two holdouts: Lynch vs. Chancellor

August 7, 2015 cc Leave a comment

For those wondering why the Seahawks don’t just accommodate Kam Chancellor, as they did Marshawn Lynch last year, it is worth pointing out that there are some big differences in their situations.

Lynch had two years left on his contract, and speculation was swirling that the Seahawks might part with him after the 2014 season. So, he just wanted to get some kind of financial commitment out of the Hawks.

The team offered to convert $1 million in game roster bonuses and incentives in 2014 to guaranteed money, along with $500,000 from his 2015 salary. Even as Lynch held out for the first week of training camp, they reportedly did not budge off the original offer from earlier in the offseason. And they also had threatened to follow through on their right to fine him if he did not report after the first week.

Lynch basically got a $500,000 bump last season — but it came from the 2015 salary. Of course, he ended up signing a new three-year deal this offseason anyway.

There is much less wiggle room for Chancellor.

Continue reading A tale of two holdouts: Lynch vs. Chancellor →

Contracts, Training camp

Schneider doesn’t sound interested in adjusting Chancellor’s deal

August 5, 2015 cc Leave a comment

Not a big surprise: Seahawks GM John Schneider told SiriusXM NFL that the Seahawks do not plan to adjust holdout safety Kam Chancellor’s contract.

Schneider said it’s tough because of the personal feelings he and the franchise have for Chancellor, but the Hawks “have to continue to conduct business the way we always have.”

“We all love Kam. He’s a phenomenal football player, obviously a key core player in what we’re doing here defensively,” Schneider said. “We all miss him. It’s a bummer for everybody involved in the situation.

“It’s personal because you love a guy so much and you have so much emotional and personal feelings for the player. At the end of the day, you have to stick to your plan and your principle. That’s what has to guide you rather than (personal feelings).

“It’s about the team. It’s the ultimate team sport,” Schneider continued. “In order for us to be a consistent championship-caliber team that we’ve been preaching ever since we got here, we have to continue to conduct business the way we always have.”

Continue reading Schneider doesn’t sound interested in adjusting Chancellor’s deal →

Contracts, State of the team

Wagner’s contract gives team some flexibility

August 3, 2015 cc Leave a comment

In the wake of Bobby Wagner’s monster contract, Pete Carroll said the Seahawks face uncertainty next year in the way the team is going to be constructed.

“It is so challenging to do this,” Carroll said, “and particularly as it (the salary cap) changes and you don’t know and you have to predict. … This is a big year now (for Seattle free agents); we don’t know what’s going to happen with the cap. We’ll wait and see.”

As it turns out, Wagner’s contract reflects the uncertainty and also covers the Hawks in case he misses games, as he has the past two seasons.

Wagner’s four-year, $43 million deal reportedly includes an $8 million signing bonus and — rare for the Seahawks — a $4 million option bonus in 2016 that would activate 2019 while giving the team cap flexibility next year and beyond.

Either way, the Hawks will pay Wagner $7 million in 2016 — with a $3 millon salary if they pay the option or $7 million if they don’t. So the cap hit could be $6.1 million or $9.1 million in 2016. If they decline the option, it would make it just a three-year extension. But they surely just wanted to include a second signing bonus to offset cap hits in 2015 and beyond.

The Hawks also included $3.5 million in per-game roster bonuses — $500,000 in 2016 and $1 million in each of the next three seasons. Wagner missed five games last year and two the previous season, so the Hawks clearly want him to earn some of the deal through simple availability.

Contracts, State of the team

Wilson & Wagner are signed; who else can Hawks keep?

August 3, 2015 cc Leave a comment

With Russell Wilson and Bobby Wagner signed, the Seahawks can check off their two biggest 2016 free agents.

But what does it mean for the others?

The official numbers for Wagner’s deal are in, and the Hawks are looking at about $14 million in space under a projected $150 million salary cap next year.

With Wilson and Wagner signed and Tony McDaniel released, their key UFAs in 2016 — barring any other extensions — will be Russell Okung, J.R. Sweezy, Bruce Irvin, Brandon Mebane, Ahtyba Rubin, Jermaine Kearse and Jon Ryan. They can’t keep all of those guys for $14 million.

“It is so challenging to do this,” Pete Carroll said, “and particularly as it (the salary cap) changes and you don’t know and you have to predict. … This is a big year now (for Seattle free agents); we don’t know what’s going to happen with the cap. We’ll wait and see.”

Continue reading Wilson & Wagner are signed; who else can Hawks keep? →

Contracts, State of the team, The roster

Hawks had to cut someone; now, what about Chancellor?

August 3, 2015 cc Leave a comment

Once the Seahawks signed Russell Wilson and Bobby Wagner to their megadeals, it was obvious someone probably was going to get cut.

While Brandon Mebane (and his $5.5 million salary) had been the rumored candidate for months, it turned out to be Tony McDaniel, whose release added $3 million to the $2 million or so the Hawks had left under this year’s cap. They typically like to have at least $4 million in reserve for practice squad and injury replacements during the season.

Pete Carroll was not happy to lose the 30-year-old McDaniel, who had been a key member of Seattle’s top-seven run defense in each of the past two Super Bowl seasons.

“It is a significant loss,” Carroll said. “Tony has been a really good core player for us, and we really liked him and what he’s brought to our club. This decision sucks, but you know we had to do something. Maybe there’s a chance we can get him back someday; I don’t know how that will work. Unfortunately, that’s what had to happen today.”

It weakens the depth on a defensive line that had looked pretty stout, especially at tackle, and means Mebane and Ahtyba Rubin will have to carry the weight as the run stoppers.

The next immediate roster concern is holdout safety Kam Chancellor.

Continue reading Hawks had to cut someone; now, what about Chancellor? →

Contracts, State of the team

Can the Hawks really please them all?

August 1, 2015 cc Leave a comment

One down. Three to go?

The Seahawks got Russell Wilson signed just in time, but Bobby Wagner, Kam Chancellor and Michael Bennett all are unhappy and showing it in different ways.

It’s funny how back-to-back Super Bowls can make people feel entitled — all three of those guys are signed, Chancellor and Bennett very recently, but they all feel like they deserve more than they agreed to.

Basically, they are flipping the script — knowing NFL teams can cut them at any time and trying to use the power of their all-star play as leverage before they lose it. Pete Carroll understands.

“They’re trying to make the most of their opportunity and trying to figure out what’s best for them,” he said after the Hawks finished their first practice Friday. “They’re difficult decisions, and they’re hard for them.

“Sometimes when they sign, they love what they sign, and it just looks different after a while,” Carroll said, referencing how contracts quickly become undervalued in the constantly growing NFL economy. “I’m compassionate towards these guys.”

Continue reading Can the Hawks really please them all? →

Contracts, State of the team

Quick thoughts on Wilson’s contract

July 31, 2015 cc Leave a comment

(Update No. 2: We had it the first time)

Some thoughts on Russell Wilson’s reported four-year, $87.6 million extension:

**The $21.9 million average puts Wilson right behind Aaron Rodgers ($22 million) for No. 2 in average annual salary among NFL QBs.

**The $31 million signing bonus matches the bonus Pittsburgh gave Ben Roethlisberger and the guaranteed money Carolina gave Cam Newton this offseason. Agent Mark Rodgers said they split it up for tax purposes, but it is all guaranteed.

**The $61.5 million in total guarantees is the most Seattle has paid to a player. Richard Sherman received $40 million in rolling guarantees. It also trumps Newton’s $60 million in total guarantees.

**Although Wagner tweeted out an ominous statement — “Can’t keep everyone” — the Seahawks still could afford Wagner if he’s amenable to something like a four-year, $38 million deal with a $10 million signing bonus. Pete Carroll said, “We’re on it. Anything you’ve heard otherwise is wrong. I hope he’s with us for a long time.” Wagner said the deadline for a deal is “now” and said he had considered holding out, a la Chancellor, until a deal was done.

**Now that Wilson is signed, Brandon Mebane might be in danger. The Hawks have around $4 million left under the salary cap; and, if they want to sign Wagner, they might need some breathing room from somewhere to account for practice squad and injury replacements during the season.

**Holdout Kam Chancellor congratulated Wilson on his deal via Twitter, and Carroll made it sound like the Hawks might try to accommodate him, saying: “Kam Chancellor is an amazing Seahawk. We want to make something happen. We want him back immediately.”

Contracts, State of the team

Moon: Wilson doesn’t want ‘obsolete’ deal

July 30, 2015 cc Leave a comment

Russell Wilson is trying to avoid the situation Michael Bennett and Kam Chancellor find themselves in, but that’s not how the NFL marketplace works — and that’s why no deal is likely.

As the presumed deadline (Friday) for a deal rapidly approaches, Warren Moon said Wilson and his agent, Mark Rodgers, actually are negotiating based on the future market for quarterbacks.

So, instead of trying to beat Aaron Rodgers’ $22 million a year and $54 million guaranteed, they are trying to get ahead of the market so they can avoid getting trumped next year by Andrew Luck, Philip Rivers, Eli Manning, et al.

“I don’t think Russell necessarily wants to be the highest paid in the league,” Moon told SI.com. “He understands where the QB market is going. If Russell was able to get $22 million right now, there are going to be four or five guys who leapfrog him. He just wants to stay in suit with the guys at the top. He doesn’t want to sign a deal that becomes obsolete.”

Continue reading Moon: Wilson doesn’t want ‘obsolete’ deal →

Contracts, State of the team

Why Chancellor is unhappy — and why it doesn’t matter

July 29, 2015 cc Leave a comment

It probably should be no surprise that Kam Chancellor reportedly has joined the chorus of Seahawks wanting more money, but John Schneider has to be simultaneously laughing and crying over yet another request for a raise.

As if Schneider and contract dealer Matt Thomas don’t have enough going on …

So, why is Chancellor unhappy? Since he signed his four-year, $28 million deal in 2013, four safeties have come along and trumped his $7 million annual average. That includes his own Legion of Boom sidekick, Earl Thomas, who makes $10 million a year.

Chancellor has gone from fourth in annual value among safeties to eighth, with Devin McCourty ($9.5 million), Jairus Byrd ($9 million), Eric Berry ($8.34 million), Dashon Goldson ($8.25 million), Eric Weddle ($8 million) and Reshad Jones (just over $7 million) trumping him.

Like Michael Bennett, Chancellor apparently is upset that his deal has been surpassed by the market. And, like Bennett, Chancellor must know that is how it works and there is almost no chance the Hawks are going to adjust his deal this year.

Continue reading Why Chancellor is unhappy — and why it doesn’t matter →

Contracts, State of the team, The roster

Wagner is worth $9M to league’s No. 1 defense

July 24, 2015 cc Leave a comment

When Bobby Wagner signs his new contract — and it appears that could be in time for training camp next week — every offense that has to face the Seahawks’ defense for the next three seasons is going to shed a few more tears.

You would too if you knew the No. 1 defense of the last three years likely will remain that way for the next three — with Wagner, Kam Chancellor, Richard Sherman, Earl Thomas, K.J. Wright and Cliff Avril (and maybe Michael Bennett) all under contract. That’s seven starters signed through at least 2017. And that doesn’t count Cary Williams, Frank Clark or Kevin Pierre-Louis — expected key contributors all signed through 2017 as well. Continue reading Wagner is worth $9M to league’s No. 1 defense →