While the millionaire tax for the state of Washington might be an issue for the Seattle Seahawks signing free agents in 2028 and beyond, there is a good chance that players of other teams want to play for the organization anyway. The reason has everything to do with something the team recently did with D'Anthony Bell.
Bell spent much of the 2025 season with Seattle but was waived and signed with the Carolina Panthers ahead of Week 18. In other words, when Seattle was making its playoff run that ended in a Super Bowl victory, Bell wasn't a part of the team.
He had been, however, an important special teams piece from between Weeks 2 through 17, and played 42 defensive snaps in Week 12 against the Tennessee Titans. He was such a contributor that even while he didn't finish the season with the Seahawks, the team has decided to give him a Super Bowl ring for being on the roster for most of the year.
Seattle Seahawks do the classy thing and give D'Anthony Bell a Super Bowl ring
That is a classy move that a lot of organizations might not do. Players on other teams know that, too, of course, and while the Pacific Northwest seems a long way from the huge cities of Los Angeles and New York, players understand a well-run franchise that treats players like what they are (human beings) is a place where they would want to be employed.
That is likely the case with D'Anthony Bell. While he was waived to open a roster spot after Week 17, and then played in a playoff game with Carolina, as a free agent this offseason, he decided to re-sign with the Seahawks. Clearly, no hard feelings existed between Seattle and the player.
He wants to be part of a winner, got a Super Bowl ring even while working for another team when Seattle was playing the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LX, and the team understands what Bell brings to the team.
He is solid depth at safety, which is needed with 2025 starter Coby Bryant signing with the Chicago Bears in free agency, and he knows how to keep his lane on special teams. One reason that the Seattle Seahawks won a title this past season is because of the excellence on special teams, and that was because of guys like Bell.
Who knows? Maybe D'Anthony Bell becomes Mike Macdonald's latest project that turns into high-end success defensively. Bell will have his chance in 2026.