Category Archives: Contracts

How serious is Bennett?

Michael Bennett and Drew RosenhausA year ago, before he re-signed with the Seahawks, Michael Bennett was asked whether he would give the Super Bowl champs a Dynasty Discount — i.e., take a little less money to stay on the NFL’s best defense and the new perennial Super Bowl favorite.

His reply: “There’s no such thing as a discount. This is not Costco. This is not Walmart. This is real life. There’s no discount, really, because you don’t go out there and give a discount effort. You go out there and give the best effort every day, you fight for your teammates, and you want to be compensated for the way you perform and the kind of teammate you are.”

But he did in fact give the Hawks a bit of a break, accepting a little less in a four-year deal worth $28.5 million, including $16 million guaranteed.

“I don’t think there’s any better situation, no matter how much money is involved,” he told 710 ESPN after signing.

But, after being paid $10 million in 2014, Bennett apparently has decided he wants to head back to Costco and trade the deal in for a new one.

That will not happen. Seattle general manager John Schneider made that clear with his stance against Marshawn Lynch last year.

The question then is this: How much of a stink does Bennett plan to make about his contract? Will he push for the rumored trade to Atlanta? And when he doesn’t get it, will he hold out like Lynch did last year? Or for longer? Or, is he just seeing what he can get and willing to go back to work for the deal he signed just one year ago?

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Wilson deal is coming: What will it look like?

Salary cap logoIf scuttlebutt is to be believed, the Seahawks are closing in on their much-anticipated contract extension for Russell Wilson.

The Hawks are almost sure to have it nailed down in the next month. Last year, they finished up big extensions for Earl Thomas and Richard Sherman the week before the draft.

Both of those deals were market-setting, and Wilson figures to get a very lucrative deal as well. The question everyone wants answered: What might it look like?

General manager John Schneider has given some clues over the past month or so.

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Carroll discusses his roster & Hawks watch comp picks add up

Pete Carroll and Russell Wilson plan to be clapping about their offense a lot this season (Getty Images)As the New Orleans Saints continued to revamp their roster Friday with yet another trade, the Seahawks — still basking in the glow of the deal that brought tight end Jimmy Graham from the Saints — simply looked within.

The news that impacted them was of players signing elsewhere, but they don’t care. No one will miss Bryan “Wave It Off” Walters, who signed with Jacksonville, and the Hawks didn’t need Shelley Smith, who got $5.65 million over two years from Denver or Stefen Wisniewski, who is a possibility but not a pressing need.

Pete Carroll has said several times this week, including on KJR Radio on Friday, that the Seahawks feel comfortable with some of their young linemen (Alvin Bailey, Patrick Lewis, Garry Gilliam, Keavon Milton, et al.) and think the draft is full of good linemen. Expect the Hawks to use at least two of their 11 picks on big guys.

They can only hope to come up with another J.R. Sweezy, the 2012 seventh-rounder who has played so much that he received $260,000 in performance bonuses from 2014 and got a CBA-mandated bump to a $1.54 million salary this year (as did Russell Wilson).

Continue reading Carroll discusses his roster & Hawks watch comp picks add up

D-line market grows; will Hawks check out Starks and Johnson?

Randy StarksThe Seahawks have always loved veteran defensive linemen. Just look at their starting four last season: Three free agents and Brandon Mebane, who was drafted by the previous regime.

It has been suggested that the 30-year-old Mebane, coming off a torn hamstring and due $5.5 million this year, could be a cap casualty.

The Hawks’ defensive line accounts for the biggest percentage of the salary cap of any part of the team — the $33 million slated to be paid to that unit this year is 23 percent of the cap. Only the Rams’, Bills’ and Dolphins’ defensive lines account for more among NFL D-lines (per OverTheCap.com).

That, along with the uncertainty around free agent Kevin Williams, explains why the Hawks have been snooping around veteran defensive tackles.

The Hawks reportedly talked to defensive tackle Ricky Jean-Francois before he signed with Washington and were said to be interested in former Arizona defensive tackle Darnell Dockett before he signed with the 49ers.

Now you can add a few more names to that list after Miami cut Randy Starks, Tampa Bay cut Michael Johnson and word is the Hawks are among the interested parties in Denver UFA Terrance “Pot Roast” Knighton. Also out there is longtime Patriot Vince Wilfork.

Continue reading D-line market grows; will Hawks check out Starks and Johnson?

Hawks need cap space: How can they make some?

Salary cap logoUnless the Seahawks alter Jimmy Graham’s contract, they have about $15 million in cap space. But they will need to earmark about $5 million of that for rookie bonuses, practice squad players and injury replacements next season, and they probably will need about $8 million in additional cap space for the extensions for Russell Wilson and Bobby Wagner.

With free-agent needs on both lines and possibly at receiver and backup quarterback, basic math tells us the Hawks need to create some space at some point. How can they do that?

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Good value: Hawks snagged a third-rounder in Graham deal, too

Byron Maxwell picks off a pass from Arizona QB Drew Stanton (Seahawks.com)One of the big questions coming out of the Seahawks’ trade Tuesday is whether they got the proper value in the deal.

We’d say it was a great deal for the Hawks — getting a first-round-caliber tight end and picks in the third and fourth rounds in exchange for a first-round pick and a second-round center whose value no longer matched that.

Yeah, we know: The deal between the Seahawks and Saints brought tight end Jimmy Graham and a fourth-round pick for center Max Unger and a first-rounder. Technically no third-rounder.

But that is not the way Seattle GM John Schneider is looking at it. Guaranteed he sees it this way: By trading for a top offensive player and not signing an unrestricted free agent at $8 million a year, he still will get a third-round comp pick in 2016 for losing Byron Maxwell to the Eagles at $10 million a year.

And you know he will be careful to make sure the Hawks lose more UFAs than they sign so that third-rounder comes to him. The Hawks are about to go plus-three in comp picks for 2016, losing Maxwell, James Carpenter (Jets) and Malcolm Smith (Raiders). Cary Williams and Will Blackmon do not count because they were released by their teams.

Continue reading Good value: Hawks snagged a third-rounder in Graham deal, too

Overpaid Maxwell might not last long in Philly

Hawks vs Packers MaxwellByron Maxwell owes Pete Carroll and Kris Richard a big vacation. Without those guys, he never would have become a $10 million player.

His looming deal with the Eagles, reportedly $60 million over six years and guaranteeing $25 million, is not far off the deal Richard Sherman signed last year: five years, $57.4 million with $40 million guaranteed. That’s the kind of overpayment free agency breeds.

The Hawks apparently tried to retain him, surprisingly offering as much as $8 million a year, but what chance did they have at that rate?

Seahawks fans are ruing the loss, but why? The Pete Carroll Secondary School made Maxwell, and they will make another guy just like him. Carroll is the key to Seattle’s secondary. Maxwell was just a cog.

Continue reading Overpaid Maxwell might not last long in Philly

Here’s a plan that adds Julius, Tramon & Paea

Julius Thomas vs SeahawksNow that the
Seahawks have
Marshawn Lynch locked up, they can get to work on the rest of their spring home improvement projects.

They basically broke even with the salary cap on Friday, with Lynch’s cap number remaining the same and Jermaine Kearse taking up the same $2.4 million slot that Zach Miller vacated. So, the Hawks still have around $24 million to work with as free agency ramps up this weekend and begins Tuesday.

That’s plenty of money for the Hawks to sign tight end Julius Thomas at $8 million a year ($6 million cap hit in 2015), defensive tackle Stephen Paea at $6 million a year ($3.5 million in 2015) and cornerback Tramon Williams at $5 million a year ($3.7 million in 2015).

Continue reading Here’s a plan that adds Julius, Tramon & Paea

Lynch’s agent discusses the deal and his client

Lynch on Super BowlDoug Hendrickson, the agent for Marshawn Lynch, said the running back never wanted to leave Seattle and has not mentioned retirement to him, and Seahawks general manager John Schneider pushed a contract extension hard starting the day after the Super Bowl.

Talking to KJR Radio about Lynch’s three-year, $31 million contract, Hendrickson said Lynch was Seattle’s first priority and Schneider called him the day after the Seahawks lost the Super Bowl — by not running Lynch at the goal line — and started talking about getting Lynch’s deal extended.

“They wanted to get it done, and they wanted to get it done fast,” Hendrickson said.

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Lynch deal overshadows the bad news

Lynch with the wry smileIt was a good news-bad news day for the Seahawks.

The release of Zach Miller and double dose of bad news from the Bears-Jets trade Friday was trumped by the great news that Marshawn Lynch is set to return for another season.

After various reports had him making $11 million for one year, $24 million for two years or $31 million for three years, it appears the latter is correct. He will get $12 million in 2015, up from his scheduled $7 million. His cap hit will remain the same, though, at $8.5 million, because he will get $4.5 million in salary and $7.5 million in a signing bonus (he had $1.5 million in bonus proration from his previous deal).

He is signed through 2017, if he chooses to return. He would make $9 million in 2016, counting $11.5 million. He would make $10 million in 2017, including a $3 million roster bonus, and count $12.5 million. If he retires after 2015, the Hawks would take a $5 million cap hit in dead money next year.

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