It’s done: Jamal Adams, Seahawks have a NFL safety-record 4-year deal, loads guaranteed
The impasse has passed.
Jamal Adams and the Seahawks have agreed on a four-year contract worth $70 million with $38 million guaranteed. NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport first reported the deal Tuesday morning.
ESPN reported the contract could be worth up to $72 million with bonuses and incentives, and includes a $20 million signing bonus. That signing bonus is the bulk of the up-front guarantees at signing Adams was seeking to maximize by staying away from practice until the deal got done.
The contract makes the 25-year-old All-Pro safety the highest-paid at his position in NFL history — by plenty. Adams’ average of $17.5 million per season, not counting the performance bonuses, eclipses the previous high for a safety: $15.25 million for Denver’s Justin Simmons.
If Adams maximizes his incentive bonuses, he could equal Bobby Wagner’s $18 million per season as the Seahawks’ highest-paid defensive player by annual average. Wagner’s contract is due to expire after the 2022 season, so he will have a new deal from someone and a new annual number by the time Adams has the opportunity to stack future bonus money from his new agreement with Seattle.
Wagner’s status and that $18 million is an important distinction to the middle linebacker and his team. Wagner has been a franchise cornerstone for a decade. Adams has been in Seattle for one year.
The agreement will end Adams’ protest of not practicing in training camp because he wanted his new contract beyond 2021 first. He’s expected to practice Tuesday afternoon.
This is the deal the Seahawks wanted. It’s what they intended to give Adams since the July 2020 day they sent two first-round draft choices to the New York Jets to acquire him.
By refusing to practice through the first 13 practices of training camp, Adams was using the only leverage he really had in his hopes of maximizing the guaranteed money
The Seahawks, though, held the ultimate leverage in keeping him beyond this year.
NFL contract negotiations are all about leverage. The player seeks it in an attempt to drive up his value — particularly, and most important in this league, the value of guaranteed money in a new deal.
Adams reported to training camp on time July 28 to avoid getting fined $40,000 per day for not being there. He has been attending meetings but not participating in any practices or preseason games. He was trying to create urgency in the team for getting him on the field with a signed contract that is more on his terms than the team’s.
His terms are those of the modern NFL star. He wanted as much guaranteed money as possible, a reported $40 million guaranteed, up front before his health or Seahawks conditions might change. Adams felt worthy of that after he set the NFL record for defensive backs with 9 1/2 sacks last season in his debut year with Seattle.
The Seahawks held firm to their terms: $38 million guaranteed.
It’s a handsome investment for a player who is coming off two surgeries, on his shoulder and hand, and played through three injuries last season.
Annual contract value is one, somewhat artificial measuring stick. Players — and fans and the media — compare their annual value to others’ to assess their market worth relative to the rest of the league.
But guaranteed money is king for players. When Adams decided he’d be more than fine with $38 million in guarantees, the deal got done.
This story was originally published August 17, 2021 at 11:22 AM.
