Three most underpaid Seahawks on the 2019 roster

The Seahawks have a lot of top-end talent. But a few of these players are outperforming their current contracts. Who are they?

I will say it. Seahawks linebacker Bobby Wagner is underpaid and he is among three of the players on the 2019 that are not making what should. Of course, what NFL players make in comparison to the rest of humanity is crazy, but this is all relative. If one player is making a ton and then a player of the same ilk is making less, that is not fair.

There are a lot of Seattle players who are overpaid and nearly as many who are underpaid. My concern here is with the players struggling to feed their families by not being able to go to Daniel’s Broiler every night (a fine eatery to say the least). Not counting players on their slotted rookie contracts, here are three of those players Seattle should pay more.

Bobby Wagner

Yes, Mr. Wagner, the best linebacker in the NFL, is underpaid. Oh, he makes a lot of money already but he is aiming for his third contract with the Seahawks and is worth every penny. Pay him now, please, Seattle. Sure, Wagner has a cap hit of $14 million in 2019, but he isn’t nearly the best paid linebacker in the league. And he is the best. He should continue to be the best for a few more years.

Seattle simply cannot let Wagner walk. That probably means extending Wagner to a higher salary than the New York Jets stupidly gave C.J. Mosley this offseason. Mosley will make an average salary of $17 million a season and his four-year deal will pay him a guaranteed $51 million. This will be what Wagner is aiming for, the guaranteed part. He is the best linebacker in football, much better than Mosley and he should make his money in a Seahawks uniform.

Bradley McDougald

McDougald is currently the 25th-highest paid safety in the NFL. The Seahawks thought they were getting a good player when they signed McDougald before 2017 and then extended him before 2018. But I doubt the team knew how important McDougald would become.

McDougald makes ^6.5 million guaranteed under his current contract. Micah Hyde of the Bills, for instance, makes $14 million over the span of his contract. McDougald is better than Hyde.

In 2019, McDougald will be the unquestioned leader in the secondary and its best communicator. Maybe he isn’t Earl Thomas or Kam Chancellor, but he is the best Seattle has right now and that is good enough.

Duane Brown

Brown was the fourth-best pass blocker for left tackles in the NFL in 2018, according to Pro Football Focus. However, Brown is only the 13th most paid left tackle in the league.

Players who get paid more than Brown? One of them is former Seahawk Russell Okung. Okung is good but not the level Brown is. There are a lot of good left tackles in the league but few as good as the four-time Pro Bowl Brown.

The fact is since Duane Brown came to Seattle he has made the offensive line much better and he will continue to do so for the next few years. He gives safety to quarterback Russell Wilson and is good against the run. Brown may be underpaid but it is a good thing to have him with the Seahawks.