The Seattle Seahawks decision to trade QB Geno Smith and sign Sam Darnold to a multi-year deal that worth up to $100.5 million appeared to position the former No. 3 overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft as the quarterback of the future in Seattle.
Yet, one ESPN reporter believes this deal is the most team-friendly contract at the QB position in the league entering the 2025 NFL season.
Seahawks Contract with Sam Darnold Named Most Team-Friendly Deal at QB in NFL
Dan Graziano of ESPN recently did a deep dive into some of the most complex contracts in the league and named Sam Darnold’s contract with the Seattle Seahawks as the most ‘team-friendly’ deal at the QB position in the league entering the 2025 NFL season.
Graziano wrote, “Darnold was an unrestricted free agent this offseason, when most teams believed there weren’t many great quarterback options. So for Seattle to get him on this deal is impressive, especially after he threw 35 touchdown passes last season with the Vikings. The Seahawks have a longstanding policy of not guaranteeing any money in veteran contracts outside of the first year. So Darnold’s full guarantee consists of his $32 million signing bonus, his $5.3 million 2025 salary and his $200,000 workout bonus. That’s it. If the Seahawks want to walk away after this season, they’d owe him no more than that $37.5 million.”
The financial nuance behind guaranteed money and multi-year deals in the NFL can be a bit complex, but the breakdown of the financial commitment from the Seahawks after the upcoming Super Bowl feels notewrothy.
Graziano continued, “If Darnold is still on the Seahawks’ roster five days after the Super Bowl this season, then his $15 million 2026 roster bonus becomes fully guaranteed, as does $2.5 million of his $12.3 million in 2026 salary. So if Seattle makes the Super Bowl, it would have to make a decision right after the season. (But let’s be honest, if the Seahawks play in the Super Bowl this season, Darnold will probably have played well enough to stick around another year for that price.)”
Is There a Strong Possibility Sam Darnold is Only with Seattle for One Season?
The idea of Darnold being a member of the Seahawks felt like something Nick Shook of NFL.com was alluding to when naming a make-or-break player entering the 2025 NFL season earlier this offseason.
Shook wrote about Darnold’s contract, âThe calculated part, though, shows in Darnoldâs contract. If the veteran canât produce at an acceptable level in his first season in Seattle, the Seahawks can cut him (after June 1) and save $27.5 million of his $33.9 million cap number in 2026 â giving themselves an exit plan if they need one.â
That exit plan certainly appears to be in the fine print of this six-figure contract, which makes Darnold a potential long-term solution at the QB position or just a one-year rental with minimal financial responsibility after this season.
The selection of the ultra-talented Jalen Milroe in the third round of this NFL Draft feels like another insurance policy if things don’t go as planned with Darnold in 2025.
Darnold is coming off of a fringe MVP caliber campaign with 4,319 passing yards to go with 35 touchdown passes and just 12 interceptions. If Darnold replicates those numbers in 2025, then the Seahawks have their quarterback of the future.
If Darnold reverts back to the level of play we saw from him during his days with the New York Jets and Carolina Panthers, then his stay in Seattle could wind up being very shortlived.
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