Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold and Tampa Bay Buccaneers QB Baker Mayfield are good friends, so one can assume they speak or text one another throughout the year. Advice and suggestions are likely passed along, which might give 12s a pause in terms of Darnold's future.
The potential issue stems from Mayfield's contract situation with the Bucs. He wants an extension, and while Tampa Bay has made offers, Mayfield feels "disrespected" by the reported amount and length of the extension. At least initially, Tampa offered only two more years beyond 2026.
After not agreeing to new terms, the quarterback put a halt to speaking with the franchise until after the season. His agent can, but Mayfield only wants to hear about the contract if the team ups the amount quite a bit. Unless the team franchise or transition tags Mayfield, he could be set for free agency in 2027.
Sam Darnold's situation with the Seattle Seahawks could mirror Baker Mayfield's with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Seahawks won't want this kind of drama to unfold with Sam Darnold next year. The quarterback is signed through 2027, and assuming he stays healthy and plays well again this season, the team might begin extension talks next offseason.
Could Darnold follow the same path as his good friend Mayfield? If not dseal is done, will Darnold enter the 2027 season not wanting to speak with general manager John Schneider and other executives until 2028? Maybe.
It is easy to think that Seattle's QB1 approaches people and contract situations differently than the Buccaneers' QB1. One would like to think Darnold will continue to have a pleasant and level-headed attitude toward his financial situation with the Seahawks.
Players do play professional football to get paid a lot of money, of course, and they understand some team will probably give them what they wish.
Plus, Sam Darnold has something that Baker Mayfield doesn't: A Super Bowl ring earned as the starting quarterback of the team that won the title. After years of being seen as the kind of quarterback that would wilt under pressure, Darnold disproved that narrative in the playoffs last season, especially in the NFC Championship Game against the Los Angeles Rams.
Like Mayfield in Tampa Bay, Darnold doesn't have an obvious replacement on the Seahawks roster. His backup is Drew Lock, a solid QB2, but no one's hope to be QB1 for several years. QB3 is Jalen Milroe, who is entering his second season but hasn't been good in training camp so far. He couldn't be trusted with real-game reps.
The contract that Sam Darnold is currently playing on probably underpays him. He has a three-year deal worth as much as $100.5 million. $33.5 million annually means Seattle's quarterback is the 15th-highest-paid player at his position on a per-year basis. He will only sink lower on the list due to other QBs getting paid before he is due for his next contract.
Thankfully, John Schneider has been more proactive recently in signing players to extensions a year before he is forced to. He has done so with wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba and edge rusher Boye Mafe just this past offseason. Next year could see the extension of Darnold, and likely with a raise (again, assuming he plays well this season), and that number could be closer to $50 million a season.
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