While the Seattle Seahawks were wading through the free agency waters in early March, two players were waiting on extensions. Jaxon Smith-Njigba secured his four-year, $168.6 million contract extension through the 2031 season, while another still waits.
Seattle didn't necessarily have to pay Smith-Njigba this offseason. Considering the wide receiver market's propensity to rise, and keep rising in contract dollars, it was best to get the extension done now. Devon Witherspoon, like Smith-Njigba at his position, is widely regarded as one of the top cornerbacks in the NFL, and eventually, he'll get paid like one, too.
Witherspoon's situation is a little different, though it's similar to Smith-Njigba: the Seahawks don't have to pay Witherspoon now, either. That said, the urgency to lock up their All-Pro cornerback should be high, even if it might take a little more time. One NFL insider isn't too worried about it, though, and there's no reason to believe Witherspoon's future is at risk.
NFL Network insider Tom Pelissero expects the Seattle Seahawks to extend Devon Witherspoon before the 2026-27 season
Witherspoon will still be with the Seahawks next season after they exercised his fifth-year option in March, but letting him enter next summer as a free agent has to be at the top of Seattle's priority list titled "things to avoid."
Witherspoon is a key centerpiece of the Seahawks, and he's only getting better as the years progress. The Seahawks have him in their plans, which is why no extension has been offered yet, drawing some curious questions. According to NFL insider Tom Pelissero, though, there shouldn't be any cause for concern.
“I am a little bit surprised that we’re sitting here in the first week of May and nothing is done with Spoon, but there are literally millions and millions of reasons for them to take a deal at some point here in the coming months,” Pelissero said. “If you don’t, you go in and you’re making a really low number in 2026. I just (think) all logic would point toward this deal gets done, and I wouldn’t make too much of the fact that it’s not done yet.”
Pelissero, while speaking with Seattle Sports’ Brock and Salk on Wednesday, was surprised Witherspoon hasn't been extended yet because of the Trent McDuffie situation with the Los Angeles Rams.
Additionally, the extended cornerback market in the league, and the similar pathway it took to extend Smith-Njigba. The Seahawks also exercised a fifth-year option before eventually giving him the extension, like they’ve done with Witherspoon already.
Pelissero also pointed to the agent factor in all of this. Witherspoon and Smith-Njigba are clients of the same agency, but each has different agents. Pelissero speculated that the different agents factor could be a reason for the holdup, but he still finds the lack of development surprising.
All of that said, Pelissero cautioned against worry and came across as pretty confident that a deal will be made before next season begins. In all likelihood, the extension will make Witherspoon one of the highest-paid cornerbacks in the NFL, if not the highest.
McDuffie, Sauce Gardner, and Denzel Ward are the league's top three paid cornerbacks at the moment. Witherspoon will either surpass all of them or find himself among them.
According to Spotrac, Witherspoon is projected to get $30-$35 million per year in a new deal. McDuffie earns $31 million per year, Gardner earns $30 million, and Ward earns $10 million less than Gardner at $20 million per year.
Whitherspoon will surely pass Ward, and almost certainly Gardner. McDuffie, on the other hand, well, that is a wait-and-see scenario. The rights for the "best cornerback in the league" title belong to either McDuffie or Witherspoon. At some point during this offseason, we'll find out whose bank account is the largest.
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