For good reason Seattle Seahawks general manager John Schneider is known for playing hardball when it comes to negotiating new contracts. That applies to everyone, including franchise legends. Over time it's become clear that Schneider never moves off specific numbers and won't even discuss a new deal when there's two or mor years remaining on a player's current contract.
Sometimes that has rubbed players the wrong way, as was the case with Golden Tate, Richard Sherman, Kam Chancellor and a few others who eventually left town. The biggest deals Schneider has done were two separate contracts for former franchise QB Russell Wilson, who the team traded to the Denver Broncos in 2022 rather than paying him the $50 million a year he wanted.
While Wilson did get a bunch of cash from Seattle over the years, there's one thing he never got: guaranteed money after the first year of the deal. That's what sets Sam Darnold's new contract with the Seahawks apart. According to NFL agent Joel Corry at CBS Sports, Darnold's deal included $15 million guaranteed for injury on the fifth day of the 2026 league year.
"The Seahawks made an accomodation for Darnold that never happened with Russell Wilson in his two contract extensions that made him the NFL's highest-paid player in 2019 and second in the league's pay scale in 2015 by essentially fully guaranteeing money at signing in the second contract year. Darnold's $15 million fifth day of the 2026 league year roster bonus is guaranteed for injury at signing."
While it's a nice little nugget for Darnold's agent, the hard truth of NFL contracts is that they're basically all one-year, prove-it deals, even for franchise quarterbacks. The Seahawks can easily get out of Darnold's deal after one year if he doesn't perform well.
It would go against their history, but that fact makes it more likely that Seattle will pick a quarterback in this year's draft. Jaxson Dart from Ole Miss and Tyler Shough from Louisville are the two prospects who have been linked with the Seahawks the most this offseason.
