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Seahawks should pay Yannick Ngakoue Frank Clark’s money

By Geoff Shull

JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA - DECEMBER 01: Yannick Ngakoue #91 of the Jacksonville Jaguars tackles Jameis Winston #3 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during the second quarter of a game at TIAA Bank Field on December 01, 2019 in Jacksonville, Florida. (Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images)
JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA - DECEMBER 01: Yannick Ngakoue #91 of the Jacksonville Jaguars tackles Jameis Winston #3 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during the second quarter of a game at TIAA Bank Field on December 01, 2019 in Jacksonville, Florida. (Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images) /
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If the Seahawks trade for Yannick Ngakoue, a major extension will need to take place. This why Seattle should pay Ngakoue when they didn’t Frank Clark.

Let me bring you back to the Seahawks offseason of 2019. Frank Clark was coming off a phenomenal year where he posted over 30% of the team’s total sacks (13). He and Jarran Reed became a formidable duo and looked to be a couple of stars in the making. However, Clark had just finished the final year of his rookie contract and would need to be extended or franchised tagged. Seattle failed to extend him by the deadline and a Franchise tag was issued.

Let’s look at how the defensive end contracts evolved throughout that season/off-season. Danielle Hunter, a comparable player with the Vikings, was extended mid-season for a contract worth roughly $14.4 million per year. At the time this seemed extravagant. However, once the season had ended, players had beat that contractual number left and right.

Dee Ford signed a 5-year, $85 million contract ($17 million per), Trey Flowers signed with the Lions for a 5-year, $90 million deal ($18 million per), and Cameron Jordan signed a 3-year, $52.5 million contract ($17.5 million per). Finally, DeMarcus Lawrence took the cake with a 5-year, $105 million contract ($21 million per).

This let Frank Clark know exactly where the market was at. He had a new benchmark that he needed to beat, DeMarcus Lawrence’s deal. The Seahawks appeared to just have become comfortable paying Danielle Hunter to Dee Ford money, when the Lawrence contract reset the market.

Meanwhile, Seattle had come off two straight back to back off-seasons filled with drama. First, the off-season of 2017, Seattle let go of a handful of stars, headlined by Richard Sherman. This was the purge of the Legion of Boom. 2018 was the year of Earl Thomas and his infamous holdout. He ended up giving up the holdout and playing in the regular season. Unfortunately, that ended poorly with Coach Carroll being flipped off and Thomas with a broken leg.

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