Category Archives: Contracts

Contracts, Injury report, The roster

How long will Ansah, Wagner be out?

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Logo -- OTAsThe Seahawks do not expect Ziggy Ansah to be ready for the start of the season, and Bobby Wagner does expect to be the highest-paid linebacker by next year.

Those were the top two takeaways from the second day of Seattle’s OTAs, which are missing a number of guys recovering from surgeries and injuries.

Wagner, whose OTA activity consists only of coaching younger players, said he wants to surpass C.J. Mosley’s $17 million a year. “That’s the top (of the) linebacker market,” Wagner said. “That is the standard. And so that is the plan: To break that.”

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Contracts, Free agency

Hawks swapped stars for Ansah, so plenty of cap space left

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Salary cap logoIt’s obviously no coincidence that the Seahawks released stalwarts Doug Baldwin and Kam Chancellor the same day they came to an agreement with Ziggy Ansah.

As it turns out, they netted about $9 million in salary cap space, which — surprise! — is exactly what they reportedly are paying Ansah. (The cap savings probably will be more like $8 million once Baldwin claims his CBA-allowed $1.2 million injury payout.)

But the bottom line: The Seahawks still have about $25.5 million in cap space, minus what they paid new nickel competitor Jamar Taylor. Take away $3.3 million for rookie bonus proration and $1.3 million for the practice players, and that leaves around $21 million.

The Seahawks also have to earmark in-season injury replacement money — say $4 million — and Ansah’s unaccounted per-game bonuses, probably around $1 million (they count against the cap as earned). So that leaves about $16 million for free agents and possible extensions for Bobby Wagner and Jarran Reed.

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Contracts, NFL draft, The roster

Hawks, Wagner preparing for possible separation

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NFL draftThe Seahawks used the draft to try to address immediate needs of replacing Frank Clark and Doug Baldwin, but they also sure looked to be hedging their bets on Bobby Wagner and K.J. Wright by drafting two linebackers for the first time in seven years.

Wagner wants to stay in Seattle beyond 2019, but he has seen plenty of guys leave and knows he might join them.

“I want to retire a Seahawk, but I understand it’s a business,” Wagner told NFL Network’s Omar Ruiz on Saturday. “I’m preparing like this is my last year as a Seahawk. If it is, I want to make sure I go out with a bang and make sure I give the city something to remember.”

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Contracts

Wilson did not want to play hardball

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Salary cap logoMark Rodgers wanted to play hardball with the Seahawks, and Russell Wilson did not.

From Peter King’s podcast: Rodgers, a baseball agent who is used to fully guaranteed contracts, was pushing the cap percentage idea for Wilson’s deal and wanted the quarterback to embrace the “play on the tag” strategy to try to force Seattle to go along with the cap concept.

But the Seahawks were not going for it. And, by the end, neither was Wilson.

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Contracts

Wilson gets record deal, team gets its way

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Wilson signing contractRussell Wilson apparently really did want to stay in Seattle — so much so that he gave the Seahawks a pretty good deal.

If reports on the money are correct, the Seahawks basically tore up Wilson’s contract and gave him a new five-year pact worth $157 million.

Wilson apparently gave up fully guaranteed money for a record signing bonus ($65 million), overall guarantees ($107 million) and annual average ($35 million on the new four years).

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Contracts

What a salary cap-based contract could look like for Wilson

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Salary cap logoRussell Wilson apparently does indeed want his new contract to be tied to a percentage of the salary cap.

We had thought he just wanted $35 million a year and at least 63 percent guaranteed at signing, based on what insider Jake Heaps said. But he wants all of the above — which is quite a demand.

The Seahawks apparently are willing to hit the APY, but would they guarantee a percentage of the cap — either entirely or for part of the deal?

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Contracts, Trades

Trade Wilson? Schneider never deals his stars

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Wilson and SchneiderThe Seahawks don’t want to trade Russell Wilson, and Wilson doesn’t want to be traded. Yet the ridiculous rumors continue that Seattle might move its franchise quarterback.

ESPN’s football reporters keep talking about the possibility, and recent Raiders coach Jack Del Rio chimed in about it. Jason La Canfora, whose reports about Wilson’s contract have all been negative, posited some trade ideas from “a smart football guy.” And Pro Football Talk, similarly pessimistic about a deal, offered teams that should call Seattle.

All of those people are forgetting one thing: John Schneider NEVER trades a premier player when he has any value. He keeps him to the bitter end. So it would be a stunner if he even considered dealing Wilson.

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Contracts

Explaining (and debunking) a cap-percentage deal

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Salary cap logoEveryone has a take on Russell Wilson and his contract. And some of them are pretty chuckleheaded.

Like the ESPN guys (and many fans) talking about Seattle trading Wilson.

Or the local radio guy who compared Wilson to redneck NBA thief Clay Bennett — basically calling the quarterback a liar who is trying to make the team look bad and really wants to play on the tag until the new CBA kicks in.

Or the lawyer turned sensationalist NFL blogger whose latest conspiracy theory has Wilson wanting to play on the tag for two years and then leave Seattle. Or (just in case that one is wrong) the blogger also has the QB trying to push a new contract tactic.

We all know Wilson wants to play his whole career in Seattle — he has said it many times — so we’ll ignore those first three lame takes. But let’s explain that contract scheme before we dismiss it.

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Contracts

Are Hawks ‘guaranteed’ to miss April 15 deadline?

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Salary cap logoGuaranteed money is the key to any contract, and it’s the most important thing to Russell Wilson in his new deal. It also figures to be the thing that could delay an agreement.

When he signed his first extension in 2015, Wilson became the No. 2 NFL player in average salary ($21.9 million), right behind Aaron Rodgers ($22 million). But he still trailed a handful of quarterbacks in guaranteed money.

With a dozen QBs having gotten new deals since Wilson was paid, he now ranks 15th in guaranteed part of the total deal (36.2 percent) and 17th in guaranteed money per year ($7.9 million) — according to figures compiled by OverTheCap.com.

Those are the two best ways to measure contract values, and Wilson is aiming for the top marks in those categories now. Kirk Cousins has his entire $28 million per year guaranteed, and Matt Ryan has 63 percent of his deal guaranteed, at $18.9 million per year.

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Contracts, On the air

Another deadline: Will Hawks pay Wilson top dollar this time?

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Wilson signing contractIf the Seahawks were to offer Russell Wilson $105 million guaranteed over three years, it sounds like he might take it.

Just like 2015, Wilson has set a deadline for a new deal — it’s just earlier this time. Unlike 2015, though, he wants to be the highest-paid player in the NFL — no second fiddle to Aaron Rodgers — and have the entire thing fully guaranteed, according to Jake Heaps on 710 ESPN.

But there seems to be a concern that Pete Carroll and John Schneider won’t put their money where their complimentary mouths are.

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