What a Jamal Adams extension could look like for the Seahawks
By Geoff Shull
What the Seahawks and Adams contract will come down to
My honest belief with this Jamal Adams contract situation, if the Seahawks were thinking of doing anything besides extending him, it would have happened before/during the draft.
Now, sitting over a week after the draft with little news around his name. It is clear, they are going to do whatever they can to make this work. I do believe there will be some lee-way given from Jamal Adams’s side.
He loves Seattle. He loves the head coach. He loves the culture of the team. He loves how competitive the roster is. However, he needs the team to make it clear, he is a priority for them.
Jamal Adams was reportedly looking at $20 million a year in New York. That was partially to mask his unhappiness. ‘Pay me such an ungodly amount of money I don’t even care where I am playing’ sort of thing.
My best guess for where I think his happy mark is to remain in Seattle is around $18 million APY. Meanwhile, Seattle is thinking: ‘we have an entire roster to build and you haven’t been durable so far.’ They are likely thinking around $15 million APY.
This would cause some hesitation from Adams’s side. He needs to see the commitment from Seattle’s side. A sign to show just how much he means to the team. As the saying goes, money talks.
Ultimately, this is where I think it ends up. Jamal comes down slightly. Seattle makes a sizeable jump to make it known how much they value him. They get a deal done.
Terms on extension: 3 years, $51 million
Average salary on extension: $17 million
Rate above next highest-paid safety: 14% (Justin Simmons at $15.25 APY)
Guarantees on contract: $33 million
**Total contractual value includes the 5th year option from his previous contract. This adds one additional year to the total deal and $9.86 million in monetary value.
Total contractual value: $60.86 million
Years under contract: 4
Average salary on contract**: $15.215 million
Cap hits by year:
- 2021: $7.86 million
- 2022: $14 million
- 2023: $18.5 million
- 2024: $20.5 million
This contract creates $2 million in the current year to help add additional players to the roster. Then a graduating scale thereafter. The goal is to have the contract’s value jump with the overall salary cap. The salary cap is expected to explode in 2023 thanks to gambling rights and the new TV deals. This could make the contract look like a steal by this point.
Regardless, this deal helps keep one of Seattle’s best players in the Pacific Northwest. I have no doubt another year under his belt with a better understanding from both coaching staff and the player will do wonders for production.
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The coaches finally started figuring out how to use him toward the end of the year. The defense flourished around the new concepts. A healthy Jamal Adams should be light years better in pass coverage as well.