Is Kam Chancellor done as a Seahawk?

The story of Seahawks strong safety Kam Chancellor has taken a sudden turn for the worse.

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His now 20-day-long holdout has become more than just him making a statement. Most have assumed that once he got his message across to the team he would report to camp, certainly in time to be ready for the regular season opener.

Today’s comment from his young and perhaps far-too-eager-to-make-a-name-for-himself agent Alvin Keels puts that idea in doubt:

"Nothing has changed. He will not report without his contract being addressed this season. The team and I have been in contact, but we haven’t been able to agree on any compromise. – Alvin Keels, agent for Kam Chancellor"

Simply put, there’s no way the Seahawks are going to “address” Kam’s contract this season, not with 3 years left on the extension he signed just 2 years ago. By now you’ve all heard the numbers; Chancellor is the 2nd highest paid SS in the league but the issue is that his salary beyond this season isn’t guaranteed. The Seahawks have stated on the record, and backed their words up with action, that they will not redo contracts with more than a year remaining on them. Not for Marshawn Lynch, not for Michael Bennett, not for anyone.

It’s obvious to me at this point that Kam is getting bad counsel from a young agent trying to make a splash. The sports agent serves many roles, but their first and foremost responsibility is to do what’s best for their client. Sure, getting them top dollar is one aspect of that role, but it’s not the only thing that determines their success. Kam is getting paid among the top safety’s in the game, and the Seahawks extended him earlier, and more generously, than most people expected. So his salary next year isn’t guaranteed, does he really believe the team would cut him even if he’s injured? That’s ludicrous. And if he was so concerned about that, he shouldn’t have signed the deal when it was put in front of him. This is a case of a player (or his agent) trying to have their cake and eat it too. They’ve already pocketed $9.7 million since the deal was struck in 2013, and now they expect another new deal with more money guaranteed up front?

That, my friends, is called double dipping. And even if he “only” wants more of his future salary converted to guarantees, it’s a precedent the team simply can’t break.

So what next? In my opinion there are only two options:

Kam realizes he’s fighting a losing battle and reports to camp, without a new deal, or……..
The Seahawks trade him.

If Chancellor follows Keels like a lemming and allows this holdout to go on indefinitely, the team may not have a choice. And as much as we all love Kam as a Seahawk and admire him as a player, we have to brace ourselves for the possibility the team may have to move on.

This team has a plan and a philosophy. They’re stepped up and taken care of every single one of their young core of stars, including Kam. There are salary cap issues on the horizon, and huge team goals on the line. One player can not get in the way of that. Besides, an All-Pro level safety in the prime of his career could fetch a pretty return in trade(how does a center and a 1st round pick sound?)

We’ve seen how quickly this organization allows themselves to move on from difficult situations with players, but in most of those cases the player was causing an issue in the locker room. In this case we’re talking about one of the best leaders on the team.

But that leader is now saying he’s above the team, and should be subject to different rules than anyone else is held to. He wants to make more money. Great, so do I! As do most of you I’m sure.

I wonder if he would still feel so strongly about that if it’s the Cleveland Browns signing his paychecks.

His agent might not care, but I wonder if that’s really what Kam Chancellor envisioned when he agreed to this strategy.

Next: Seahawks break camp with unanswered questions

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