Seahawks free agency: 5 things we learned from the contracts | Analysis
SEATTLE – While initial numbers were revealed about the contracts signed over the last week by key Seahawks free agents, full numbers have only become available over the last few days.
As always, the final numbers provide a more accurate assessment of what players received and help give insight into decisions that were made and not made along the way.
Here are five observations after reviewing those numbers:
Seahawks added void years to make Shaheed deal work: As was speculated at the time, the Seahawks added two void years to the end of Rashid Shaheed’s contract that were pivotal in allowing them to re-sign the receiver and returner. Shaheed signed a base three-year deal worth up to $51 million with $23 million guaranteed.
The Seahawks pushed back $8 million of his $20 million signing bonus, that makes up the bulk of the guarantees, to the 2029 and 2030 seasons.
That allows for $8 million of the cap hit to go on the 2029 season and brings down the cap hits for the 2025-27 seasons. Thus, Shaheed’s cap hit for 2026 is $7 million from what was initially reported as $9.666 million, before going to $16.5 million and $19.5 million in 2027 and 2028, respectively.
That means the Seahawks have an estimated $44.08 million in cap space left for 2026 and $40.9 million in effective cap space (total cap space minus what they are projected to need to sign draft picks).
That’s a lot of space left, right? It is a decent amount, ranking fifth among all NFL teams in both categories via OvertheCap.com.
Some might ask why the Seahawks didn’t use some of that to re-sign the likes of Coby Bryant, Kenneth Walker III (we’ll explain more about those two situations in a moment), Boye Mafe and Riq Woolen, the four free agents who were quickly snatched up by other teams.
The Seahawks appear to be gearing up to sign receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba and cornerback Devon Witherspoon to extensions at some point this year which depending on the structure could take up a healthy chunk (while also requiring big immediate cash payments).
The Seahawks also need $8-10 million in cap space or so for getting through the season (practice squad, injured reserve, etc.) and have traditionally liked to keep some to have the flexibility to make moves later in the year.
The Seahawks are hardly alone in keeping a healthy amount of cap space after the first week of the new league year.
Ten teams have at least $40 million in cap space left, and the 49ers are right off that pace at just over $39 million left, with the Chargers leading the way at $62.09 million.
Unlike, say, winning a shopping spree at Target, NFL teams – the smart ones, anyway – don’t spend all their available cap space immediately just because they have it.
Odds are the Seahawks will have used quite a bit of that by the time the 2026 season is complete.
Bryant, Walker got second-year salary guarantees: The full details of the contracts signed by Walker with the Chiefs and Bryant with the Chicago Bears show that each indeed got fully-guaranteed salaries for 2027 as well as 2026.
Assuming that the Seahawks would have wanted to match the deals each received in terms of overall values and bonus, the second-year salary might have been a deal breaker.
Instead of guaranteeing second years of salaries the Seahawks often put in early trigger dates for salary to become guaranteed early that year. That allows them a window to get out of the deal if they wants and also means they don’t have to put that money in escrow immediately, as required by the NFL.
Shaheed, for instance, is getting all of his $11.735 million salary for 2027 guaranteed next Feb. 10, according to OvertheCap.com, a clause that surely helped get the deal one.
Walker’s deal showed no other surprises. It confirmed that his $14.35 million average per year is fourth-highest in the NFL in 2026 behind only Saquon Barkley of the Eagles ($20 million), Christian McCaffrey of the 49ers ($19 million) and Derrick Henry of the Ravens ($15 million) and that his guarantee at signing of $28.7 million is third-highest behind only Barkley’s $36 million and the $35.895 million of Ashton Jeanty of the Raiders on his rookie contract after being drafted sixth overall a year ago.
Those appear benchmarks the Seahawks simply didn’t want to meet regardless of second-year guarantees.
In the case of Bryant, the full guarantee of his $12.25 million salary for 2027 likely played a bigger role. That number means Bryant’s fully-guaranteed money at signing of $25.75 million is eighth-highest among all safeties.
That number went above some of the common industry projections such as Pro Football Focus, which estimated $10 million per year and a $20 million guarantee for Bryant.
It hasn’t been reported what the Seahawks offered Bryant, but general manager John Schneider talks often of the team setting valuations for players and generally trying to stick with those – in other words, trying not to get caught up in bidding wars.
In the specific case of Bryant, the Seahawks have seen Ty Okada start 11 games at safety – including the critical regular-season finale win against the 49ers when he started in place of an injured Bryant – and can insert him into the full-time starting lineup. The Seahawks also signed free agent Rodney Thomas II of the Colts (whose signing became official Monday) and brought back D’Anthony Bell to fill out the position.
Mafe among top edge-rush cap hits: Mafe did not get any second-year guaranteed salary on his deal with the Bengals, which is worth up to $60 million. Mafe’s $19 million in guarantees includes a $15 million signing bonus and a $4 million roster bonus for the 2026 season.
It breaks down to a $17 million cap hit for 2026, which is surely higher than the Seahawks would have wanted to handle.
Mafe was a valued player but also played just 50% of the snaps and was thought to be available for trade at midseason when it became obvious he might not be in the Seahawks’ long-term plans. That cap hit ranks 15th among all edge rushers this season, according to Spotrac.com, and would be fifth among all Seahawks.
The Bengals were aggressive in signing Mafe knowing Trey Hendrickson was about to sign elsewhere (as he ended up doing, signing with the Ravens).
Likely playing into the Seahawks’ decision is that it’s thought be an exceptionally deep year for edge rushers in the draft. They will likely target that spot with one of their first couple picks and could use some of the available cap space to sign a veteran who is still available if needed (hey, Jadeveon Clowney is available!).
Woolen deal makes it obvious Seahawks were moving on
When players sign elsewhere it is commonly portrayed as a team “losing” that player. But the full details of Woolen’s one-year deal with the Eagles makes it apparent each side was looking for a fresh start.
Woolen’s contract was initially reported as worth up to $15 million. But via OvertheCap.com, its true value is $12 million, which includes a $6 million signing bonus.
According to OTC, the Eagles prorated the bonus over four void years added to the end of the deal, keeping the cap hit at just $3.4 million for 2026 and ballooning to $8.59 million in 2027.
In other words, it’s even more of a one-year “prove it” deal than was thought when it was initially reported.