That’s over: Devon Witherspoon signs rookie contract, joins Seahawks training camp
Perhaps the oddest holdout is Seahawks history lasted only two days.
The Seahawks signed top rookie draft pick Devon Witherspoon before the third practice of training camp Friday. The fifth-overall choice in May’s NFL draft will go back to his starting-cornerback spot he had in offseason practices into last month.
The team announced Witherspoon’s signing Friday morning. He was the last of the 259 players selected in this spring’s draft to sign.
The holdout had been over the relatively small matter of when Witherspoon would receive his signing bonus of $20,171,000. That amount, plus his overall contract value of $31.8 million are slotted and mandated per pick each draft by the league’s collective bargaining agreement.
About the only aspect of rookie contracts that isn’t slotted by the NFL is the timing of payments of guaranteed signing-bonus cash. The Seahawks as a general business practice pay that money in multiple installments.
The agents of top players want their clients to get all or most of their signing bonus up front. That’s the conflict Witherspoon and the Seahawks resolved with this agreement.
This week the Houston Texans agreed to give quarterback C.J. Stroud, the second pick in May three spots ahead of Witherspoon, all $23.38 million of his slotted signing bonus up front. Right now. That got Stroud to sign his rookie contract and report to Texans training camp on time.
Will Anderson, the third-overall pick by Arizona, got the Cardinals to pay him 85% of his signing bonus within 15 days of signing. That was $19,218,000 to him basically up front. Arizona will pay the remainder of his signing bonus to Anderson on Oct. 15.
Witherspoon’s short-lived impasse was basically no big deal to teammates such as Quandre Diggs and to coach Pete Carroll, at least judging by their public comments about it this week.
Diggs, a team captain last season, said Thursday he was letting the rookie handle his own business without giving him advice.
Diggs was asked if he could fathom being a rookie as he was eight years ago and holding out over when his $20 million signing bonus got paid to him.
“I was a sixth-round draft pick, so my money ain’t nothing like what ‘Spoon is about to get,” Diggs said. “I think I got like $70,000 after taxes, so for me it wasn’t like I was going to be rich. I was going to be a normal civilian, so just give me my money when you get it to me.
“He’s our fifth pick. We drafted him for a reason. They want him here. He wants to be here, so it will be all good.”
Seahawks coach Pete Carroll brushed off Witherspoon’s holdout as a non-story Wednesday, the first day of camp.
“He’s not here today. He knows everything he needs to know,” Carroll said. “I can’t imagine he won’t be here very soon.
“Like, right away.”
Like, Friday afternoon.
Tre Brown had been the starting left cornerback in Witherspoon’s absence.
Seahawks sign former Husky
Seattle signed former University of Washington Huskies running back Wayne Taulapapa and waived cornerback Montrae Braswell.
Taulapapa was in the Seahawks’ rookie minicamp in May as a tryout player.
He started 12 games and was the Huskies’ leading rusher last season, his only year at UW after four seasons at Virginia. He rushed for 887 yards. Taulapapa was a team captain for his lone season with the Huskies.
Braswell is an undrafted rookie out of Missouri State who signed with the Seahawks in June.
This story was originally published July 28, 2023 at 10:56 AM.
