Earl Thomas is waiting because Seahawks must pay Kam Chancellor

The Seahawks need Earl Thomas more than ever since they lost Kam Chancellor, yet the loss of number 31 is exactly why Thomas is waiting for an extension.

In the world of professional sports, money talks louder and more often than anything. Talent, team need, popularity, none of it matters more than the dollar. That goes for both players and teams. Earl Thomas is holding out for a contract extension, and the Seahawks show no signs of giving him one. The biggest reason for the impasse is the fate of Kam Chancellor.

Chancellor has apparently finished his stellar career with the Seahawks. Of course this is a huge blow to the Legion of Doom. Richard Sherman is now with the hated 49ers. Shaquill Griffin and Bradley McDougald are just earning their places in the Legion. And Earl Thomas is – well, Earl Thomas is waiting to get paid.

Thomas has made it clear he feels he should be paid like the best safety in the league. And he’s right. He should be paid more than guys like Reshad Jones and Jimmy Ward. According to the excellent spotrac.com, six safeties will bring home more cash than Thomas this year. The man deserves an extension. You never know when one play can end your career. Just look at Chancellor.

Seahawks fear a replay of the Chancellor contract situation

That’s exactly what the Seahawks are doing, of course. They’re looking at Chancellor, and especially at his contract. He can’t play, but he also can’t retire. He’d lose a very large chunk of money if he did. For details, check out the always insightful Bob Condotta’s article for the Seattle Times. In brief,

"To make it clear — neither Chancellor nor the team thinks he will play again because of a neck injury suffered in November at Arizona.But for now, Chancellor also won’t retire due to the structure of his contract — if he retires he would give up injury guarantees for the 2018 and 2019 seasons of $6.8 million and $5.2 million (in fact, the $6.8 million was guaranteed in February)."

The Seahawks won’t have to carry Chancellor on the 53 man roster, as he’d certainly be placed on the Physically Unable to Perform list, and be placed on the 90 man roster. And who knows? Maybe the injury will eventually heal.

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This clearly impacts Seattle and Earl Thomas. The team is justifiably a bit gunshy about handing out another huge contract with big guarantees. Thomas missed time the past two seasons; in 2016 with a broken leg, and in 2017 with knee and hamstring injuries. He’s a six-time Pro Bowler, a three-time first team All Pro, and deserves to get paid. And the Seahawks will pay their other Pro Bowl safety $12 million over the next two seasons to never take another snap again.

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