The Seattle Seahawks took some heat when they decided to trade away Geno Smith last month, only to then replace him with big-ticket free agent, Sam Darnold.
With Smith set to play out the final year of a 3 year, $75 million deal, the Seahawks sent him to Las Vegas for a third round pick in this month’s draft, only to then come back and spend $100 million on a 3 year deal for Sam Darnold – despite some in the media claiming Geno was at least as good as, if not better than Darnold.
However, the Seahawks gained some semblance of vindication on Thursday, as the Raiders announced that they were signing the 34 year old to a 2 year deal worth up to $85.5 million, per Jordan Schultz.
BREAKING: The #Raiders and QB Geno Smith have agreed to a 2-year, 85.5M with 66.5M Guaranteed contract extension, multiple sources tell @NFLonFOX.
After landing his new QB via trade, Pete Carroll and Vegas secure Smith for the foreseeable future with a big payday. pic.twitter.com/IFbk5H1rTE
— Jordan Schultz (@Schultz_Report) April 3, 2025
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Geno Smith Gets $42 Million/Year In New Extension
Given the rate of other quarterback contracts around the league, including that of Kirk Cousins, who received a 4 year, $180 million deal from the Falcons coming off an Achilles tear, $42 million APY is not an extortionate amount of money for a player of Smith’s caliber.
However, there has been a shift in the league over the couple of years that has lead teams to become more careful with mid-level quarterback investments. There is a reason why Sam Darnold, despite coming off a Pro Bowl year, did not come close to cracking the $40 million APY club.
The same reason that Baker Mayfield, who has proven to be one of the more efficient passers in NFC, signed a similarly priced extension almost exactly one year prior.
The days of making the Derek Carr/Jimmy Garoppolo tier of quarterbacks the highest paid in the league are finished as the market for signal callers has exploded with the salary cap increases over the past half decade.
In 2019, Russell Wilson‘s $35 million/year was the NFL‘s biggest contract by APY. Just five years later in 2024, that figure had almost doubled when Dak Prescott received a 4 year, $60 million extension from the Cowboys last September.
Did The Seahawks Make The Right Decision?
Quite possibly. Moving off a 34 year old Geno Smith for a similarly able Sam Darnold, for what will end up being nearly $10 million less/year feels like a steal on paper. Yet Seattle knows they are inherently taking a risk in signing Darnold, who has only had one full season of franchise quarterback-level play over the course of his up-and-down career.
Still just 27 years of age there is further development to be had from Darnold, in addition to a long runway before age-related decline sets in. And with the team being limited with Smith anyway, it feels like they may as well take an ultimately price-saving gamble on the former #3 overall pick.
Nothing will be concrete until some point into this upcoming season, but at the outset, the Seahawks should be fairly content with where they are.
