Seahawks could make DK Metcalf happy by doing the opposite of the 49ers

The Seattle Seahawks' NFC West rival, the San Francisco 49ers, have been extremely successful over the last five seasons. They have yet to win a Super Bowl but have made the NFC Championship game four times. While 49ers fans have not been made the happiest in the NFL with a championship in three decades, they do have to be content knowing they have a team that is going to compete every season.

But there is darkness on the horizon for the 49ers. They have the oldest roster in the league by a decent margin. The difference between the 49ers' average roster age (27.0) and the next closest team, the New York Jets at 26.6, is the same difference between the Jets and the 17th-oldest roster, a tie between four teams. The Seahawks, by the way, have the league's seventh-youngest roster (25.8).

San Francisco also doesn't have much cap room this offseason or next. The problem for the 49ers is they have two key receivers, Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk, whose contracts will end by 2025. Aiyuk's deal is done after 2024. Aiyuk proved to be extremely important to the 49ers' offense in 2023 and the team would be negatively affected should he leave in free agency.

Seattle Seahawks need to be proactive with a contract extension for DK Metcalf

However, San Francisco seems in no rush to try to avoid losing him. The 49ers also seem unconcerned so far about what to do with Deebo Samuel. Maybe San Francisco simply cannot afford to keep either, but they should at least try to proactively end the mess they are about to get themselves into. Losing Samuel and Aiyuk likely means San Francisco's championship window will close more quickly.

This relates to the Seahawks - beyond the fact that a diminished 49ers team is good for Seattle - because DK Metcalf's current deal is up in 2025. Aiyuk is still on his rookie deal and playing out a fifth-year option, but Metcalf is only 94 days older than Aiyuk, and Metcalf is two years younger than Samuel. In other words, if Aiyuk has a lot of years left to play at a high level, so should Metcalf.

The salaries of top wide receivers have skyrocketed over the last few years. Metcalf's cap hit in 2024 is $24.5 million, and in 2025, it is $29,500,471. That is clearly a lot of money, but in 2025, Metcalf's cap hit is only the fifth-highest among receivers, and that rank is probably going to be lower after Aiyuk gets a new deal. The Dallas Cowboys' CeeDee Lamb and the Minnesota Vikings' Justin Jefferson will also get new deals after 2024.

When DK Metcalf's contract ends after 2025, he will only be 28 years old. He is going to want to get paid a lot of money, obviously. He is the Seahawks' best receiver, and he needs to stay in Seattle. To avoid a mess like the 49ers are about to have, Seattle general manager John Schneider might already be setting aside the money it will take to extend Metcalf. Plus, he might want to think about extension talks immediately after the 2024 season and before Aiyuk, Jefferson, and Lamb get new deals.

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