The Seattle Seahawks were faced with many challenging decisions this offseason. They let Kenneth Walker III, Boye Mafe, Coby Bryant and Riq Woolen go in favor of retaining/extending Rashid Shaheed, Josh Jobe, Devon Witherspoon and Leonard Williams.
The team does not have unlimited resources and had to make some tough decisions. And while they couldn't keep everyone, they are still investing in their team like they are the defending Super Bowl champs.
In an ongoing series on Substack, I take a look at how teams are investing in their rosters, through both cash spending and the draft, in an effort to determine who is really pushing for a winning product and who is just treading water.
How the Seattle Seahawks are "outspending" the rest of the NFC West
Seahawks fans should be pleased that no other team in the NFC West is dedicating as much to their on-field product as Seattle.
When accounting for draft capital, the Seahawks have invested $486.1 million in their roster this year.* That places them $25.4 million ahead of the Cardinals, $39.2 million ahead of the Rams, and a whopping $48.3 million ahead of the 49ers.
That's what you want to see from a team that just won the Super Bowl.
*The analysis was done before the high-profile extensions of Devon Witherspoon and Leonard Williams. Those deals now push Seattle's cash spending and overall resource allocation.
A big reason for how they ended up ahead of their divisional rivals comes down to their success in the draft. Seattle has almost $200 million worth of draft pick resources set to make their final 53-man rosters. That is significantly more than both the Rams ($113M) and the 49ers ($140M) and trails only the league-leading Cardinals ($228M) in the division.
Seattle has complemented those draft investments with solid spending. Over the Cap currently has them as the fifth-highest cash-spending team in the NFL.
How the Seahawks are allocating their investments
After years of offensive line struggles, general manager John Schneider has sunk considerable assets into fixing Seattle's offensive front. Schneider gave Charles Cross $43 million in cash this year. Grey Zabel represents another $17.6 million in invested assets when accounting for his draft position.
Those two players alone account for a larger investment than the 49ers have made in their entire offensive line.
As one might expect, the Seahawks have put heavy resources into their defense as well. Within the division, they rank second in asset allocation to linebacker and first by a considerable margin in the secondary. And while they are fourth at defensive line spending (again, before the Williams extension, which should push them to third), the whole division is within a tight $15 million band.
And while the team decided to move on from Kenneth Walker III, it hasn't stopped them from spending assets on a running back. They are nowhere near as invested as the Cardinals (who dedicated a top five pick to the position), but they still come out in second - ahead of the 49ers who are paying Christian McCaffrey a hefty (and deserved) salary.
Finally, the Seahawks have dedicated more resources to wide receivers than the rest of the division after extending Jaxon Smith-Njigba and re-signing Rashid Shaheed.
In all, Seattle is first or second in the division in total asset allocation at six of nine position groups. It's exactly how you would expect a reigning Super Bowl Champion to behave.
Add us as a preferred source on Google