Seattle Seahawks News & Rumors

More than 18 months after becoming eligible for an extension, Jamal Adams finally signed one. After initially balking at the Seahawks’ four-year, $70MM offer, the All-Pro safety agreed to terms and began practicing for the first time since January.

Adams’ $17.5MM-per-year deal both makes him the NFL’s highest-paid safety by more than $2MM annually and keeps Bobby Wagner as Seattle’s highest-paid defensive player, which the team wanted. More information has come out on Adams’ extension, which ended months-long negotiations and stopped this saga from heading toward a franchise tag.

The Seahawks threatened to rescind their offer to Adams if he did not take it now, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk reports. While the team did not threaten discipline for Adams holding in and skipping drills, some hardball took place. But the historically effective blitzer has his long-term deal, with Florio adding some unspecified “cosmetics” are also included, and is signed through 2025.

After news of the 25-year-old defender’s brief stalemate surfaced, a conversation with his mother late Monday night appears to have accelerated his timetable.

“I wasn’t not going to take the contract,” Adams said, via PFT’s Charean Williams. “Where I’m from, we’re definitely taking that, man. Mom called. She called twice, and when mom called, and she told me I needed to take the contract. It was a no-brainer. Mama knows best.”

Adams’ extension includes just $21MM guaranteed at signing, but that figure bumps up to $35.44MM five days after Super Bowl LVI, according to CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones (Twitter links). With the Seahawks almost certainly not bailing on this contract by then, Adams’ effective full guarantee leads all safeties.

While the safety market hit an interesting lull in 2018, a bevy of deals in the $14MM AAV neighborhood from 2019-20 restored it. Justin Simmons‘ second franchise tag led to the Broncos Pro Bowl defender moving the market north of $15MM on average earlier this year, and Adams has taken it to a new place. The Seahawks can now move on to their Duane Brown issue, though the team does not exactly want to hand its soon-to-be 36-year-old left tackle a new contract this year.

The Seahawks can franchise tag Jamal Adams next year for an estimated $13-14MM. At least, that’s the case if Adams is considered a safety. If there’s no deal in place between now and next spring, Adams will argue that he should be classified as a linebacker (via PFT). 

There is precedent for this sort of thing — multiple linebackers have managed to get classified as defensive ends, adding millions to their franchise tag salaries. Adams’ odds will largely hinge on how the Seahawks use him in 2021. If he sees more snaps at safety than linebacker, then he’ll be fighting an uphill battle. But, if it’s the other way around, Adams could see a tag worth nearly $18MM in 2022, perhaps $4MM more than the safety tag.

Beyond that, Adams would increase his leverage significantly. A 20% bump in 2023 ~would put him at about $21.5MM, giving him $10MM more in total between ’22 and ’23. That’d be a much stronger starting point for negotiations for Adams’ camp.

At last check, the Seahawks offered Adams a four-year, $70MM deal with $38MM guaranteed. That’d keep Bobby Wagner as Seattle’s highest-paid defender while making Adams the NFL’s highest-paid safety by a healthy margin — about $2MM/year over Justin Simmons. Adams’ camp, meanwhile, wants $40MM guaranteed with all of the bonus money paid out in the first three years, rather than across all four.

The Seahawks are “truly done” negotiating with Jamal Adams, according to a league source who spoke with PFT. After their latest offer, the Seahawks are fully prepared to let Adams play out his option year. 

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After that, the Seahawks can franchise tag him twice to keep him under club control through 2023. (Technically, they could franchise tag him three times, but the rate for the 2024 season would be a cap killer.) As it stands, Adams is slated to make $9.86MM in 2021 — an absolute steal for a safety of his caliber. We won’t know the 2022 franchise tag numbers until next spring, but it’d likely cost the Seahawks under $14MM to cuff Adams for next year. Beyond that, they’d be looking at a 20% increase — somewhere in the $16MM neighborhood — for 2023. Those figures would be costly, but still favorable for the Seahawks.

The Seahawks have reportedly offered Adams a four-year, $70MM deal with $38MM guaranteed. That’d keep Bobby Wagner as Seattle’s highest-paid defender while making Adams the NFL’s highest-paid safety by a healthy margin — about $2MM/year over Landon Collins. Adams’ camp countered with $40MM guaranteed and bonus money to be paid out in the deal’s first three years, rather than across all four.

The gap between the two sides is slimmer than its ever been, but the Seahawks say they won’t budge any furhter.