The #1 reason that the Seahawks SHOULD pay DK Metcalf: Salary Cap breakdown

What Seattle's future contracts say about paying their best young player in the present

The NFL salary cap isn’t necessarily ‘complicated’ — it’s actually easier to understand than most ‘HOW DO THE RAMS KEEP ADDING PLAYERS?’ comments would lead you to believe — but it’s hardly straightforward either.

It took me many years to even get a medium grasp on how contracts and the salary cap work. However, for a guy who nearly failed to get necessary math credits in both high school and college, if I can figure it out, so can anyone else.

That’s why I made a quick video showing how I use sites like OvertheCap.com and what the Seattle Seahawks 2022-2024 situation says about the roster both now and in the near future. What it eventually told me is that the Seahawks NEED to actually pay DK Metcalf.

If they don’t, who’s left?

Watch the video here and/or read a short explanation below.

But first… this morning I received an e-mail from the mafia, subject line: “Do you remember what happened to Denzel Washington at the end of Training Day?” The body of the e-mail than detailed how Denzel was killed for failing to pay the mafia what they felt they were owed, but that in my case, what is owed is “hitting 500 subscribers.” Please help me avoid the same fate as Denzel in the movie Training Day by becoming a subscriber and telling a friend about Seaside Joe.

Why the Seahawks SHOULD pay DK Metcalf

Though Seattle doesn’t have quite as much 2023 cap space as the $100 million figures that were thrown around a week ago (more like $72 million as of today), the Seahawks do have quite a lot of effective cap space for next season. And almost nowhere to spend it.

What’s most telling though is the money that the Seahawks have allocated for players who are signed through 2024, because that list is all of eight players long: That’s tied with the Houston Texans for the fewest number of contracts players in the NFL that year.

Because Seattle only drafted three players in 2021, because the draft picks in previous years mostly haven’t been good enough to earn second contracts, because the team has cut or traded away most of their veterans, because the Seahawks are not an attractive free agent destination at the moment, the team is WIDE OPEN for contracts on the 2024 budget. What’s even MORE telling is who those players are:

• Three 2021 draft picks, none of whom (Dee Eskridge, Tre Brown, Stone Forsythe) have done anything to solidify themselves as rostered players in three seasons

• Two 2022 re-signings (Quandre Diggs, Will Dissly) who will be in the final years of their new deals

• Two veterans (Tyler Lockett, Jamal Adams) and Michael Dickson (Michael Dickson)

Both Lockett and Diggs will be past 30 years of age in 2024, and only Lockett, Adams, and Dickson are signed for 2025.

Now consider “What are the odds that 32-year-old Tyler Lockett will be the Seahawks’ NUMBER ONE receiver in 2024?” The same could be asked of Dee Eskridge. If Seattle trades DK Metcalf, sure they could survive a probably-lost 2022 season without him, and yes they could draft a wideout to take his place on the roster, but what assurances do the Seahawks have that they won’t wind up like the Jaguars, Giants, Jets, or any of these bad teams that have thus far WIPED OUT on acquiring a star receiver like Metcalf?

So once you assume—as you should—that the Seahawks won’t be paying Tyler Lockett his $24 million cap hit in 2024, then what the hell is that money for? Which receiver is it going to, if not Lockett or Metcalf? The impetus to even consider trading Metcalf is partly connected to the current presence of Lockett, but what does THAT have to do with when Seattle will actually need a number one wide receiver which we know isn’t until 2023 or 2024.

And what are the odds that Jamal Adams, Quandre Diggs, and Will Dissly will even make it to the end of their contracts? Few NFL players do, actually, so the combined odds of all three being with the Seahawks through 2024 is surprisingly low. The odds that DK Metcalf will still be a valuable receiver in 2024, when he’s only 26-27, is comparatively quite high.

Problem solved: the Seahawks SHOULD pay DK Metcalf. They should do it now.

Tell me what YOU think in the comments. Subscribe to the YouTube channel for more vids. Watch my full interview with Rob Staton of Seahawks Draft Blog. And please help support Seaside Joe if you can—the bigger we grow, the hotter the fire under me gets to keep posting!