Seattle Seahawks Only Have 1 Of NFL’s Highest Paid Players

According to Forbes Magazine. The Seattle Seahawks only have 1 of the NFL’s 30 highest paid players, and it’s probably not who you might think it is. You might think that it would be Red Bryant or Marshawn Lynch, who signed massive free agent contracts this offseason to stay with the team, but that would be incorrect. So would be last season’s big signings on Sydney Rice and

The player is Russell Okung, who checks in at #29 on the list at $17.1 million once all salaries, bonuses, incentives and endorsement deals are factored in.

The fact that Okung, an oft injured player who’se never even made it to a pro-bowl, is among the highest paid players in the league speaks loudly as a reason for the rookie wage scale in the new CBA. Okung was a high pick and a premium position, and thus was given a huge salary before he ever played in an NFL game.

The fact the Seahawks only have one player on the list, is a testament John Schneider’s fiscal responsibility. The Seahawks used the uncapped year to shed a large number of bad contracts. This left the Seahawks with a ton of unused cap space. Schneider could have gone a spending spree on overpriced 30-somethings like other teams have done, and like the Seahawks did under Holmgren and Ruskell, and taken some short term gains for some long term pain.

Instead, Schneider let his young team grow, and is now reaping the rewards of his patience.