The Seattle Seahawks' offseason changes definitely created a lot of cap room. The team was about to be hamstrung by the cap had they kept and extended quarterback Geno Smith and wide receiver DK Metcalf, but those players were both traded. Veteran receiver Tyler Lockett was released.
Instead of entering free agency with little room to bid against other teams, Seattle created enough cap space to outbid nearly anyone else, if they wanted. New quarterback Sam Darnold might not be the highest-paid quarterback ever, but Seattle at least had the $100.5 million to bring him to the team.
The same can be said of defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence (formerly of the Dallas Cowboys) and receiver Cooper Kupp (formerly of the Los Angeles Rams). General manager John Schneider did not overpay for those players, either. For instance, as is the Schneider way of doing business, neither Kupp nor Lawrence has any guaranteed money beginning in the second year of their three-season deals.
The Seahawks still have more than $35 million in salary cap space
Lawrence signed a contract that could pay him for three years and as much as $32.5 million. According to Over the Cap, the contract breaks down as follows:
- 2025: $5.15M base salary, $6.6M signing bonus, $850k per game roster bonuses
- 2026: $8.15M base salary, $850k per game roster bonuses
- 2027: $9.68M base salary, $850k per game roster bonuses
Should Lawrence have an injury-riddled 2025 or is production greatly diminished (let's hope neither of those turns out to be true), Seattle could release Lawrence after 2025 and save $7,066,666 in cap room.
Kupp, who is the truest replacement to Metcalf that the Seahawks have added so far, has a deal that looks like this:
- 2025: $4,990,000 base salary, $12M signing bonus, $510,000 per game roster bonuses
- 2026: $12,990,000 base salary, $510,000 per game roster bonuses
- 2027: $12,490,000 base salary, $510,000 per game roster bonuses
Should Kupp get hurt in 2025 or not be productive, Seattle would save $9.5M by moving on from him before the 2026 season. Like with Lawrence, let's hope Kupp is as productive as the Seahawks need him to be.
After quarterback Sam Darnold was signed to his deal along with Seattle's other offseason moves so far, the team (again, according to Over the Cap) has $36,300,483 left to spend. That is the fifth-most in the league as of March 27. In other words, Seattle has plenty of room left to bring in a free agent interior lineman if it wants.
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