Seahawks appreciated Boye Mafe. But not at the price the Bengals will pay him
Boye Mafe impressed Seahawks coaches for performing beyond traditional defensive statistics.
But not by THIS much.
The Cincinnati Bengals agreed Monday to a free-agent contract with Mafe. It will pay the four-year outside linebacker $20 million per season, in a three-year deal worth up to $60 million. That’s per his agent Mike McCartney, on the first day of free-agent negotiating for the new league year.
Mafe, 27, had two sacks in 20 Seahawks games this past season. He played in all 17 games of the regular season plus the three playoff games through Seattle winning Super Bowl 60 last month. His 31 tackles in the regular season were a career low for the Seahawks’ second-round draft choice in 2022 out of Minnesota.
At the NFL scouting combine in Indianapolis two weeks ago, Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald said Mafe was his team’s quickest defender pass rushing off the snap.
“I think Boye played really good football for us,” Macdonald said off the podium at the Indiana Convention Center Feb. 25. “I mean, for the guys that we had in our roster, and then him taking the role that he had was great. The way he plays the edge is a great compliment to the rest of the guys.
“I’m sure he wanted more sack production, things like that. But he’s also probably the guy that wins the quickest on our defensive line. So that’s great production, in my mind.”
The Bengals obviously think so. They are letting four-time Pro Bowl defensive end Trey Hendrickson test free agency this month.
The Seahawks have returning under contract for 2026 veteran Uchenna Nwosu, who returned a fumble for a touchdown in the fourth quarter of the team’s 29-13 win over New England in Super Bowl 60. They also have three-year veteran outside linebacker Derick Hall returning. Both were more productive this past season than Mafe.
Mafe played 50% of Seattle’s defensive snaps in the 2025 regular season.
