When a contract year isn't a contract year
Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Uchenna Nwosu headline Seahawks playing to get a new contract or keep their old one
The term “contract year” is used for athletes who will be free agents after the current season ends, but in the NFL, where deals are much more fluid, this term has a much broader definition than that. If a player isn’t performing up to his contract, he’ll be cut or traded. If a player is outplaying his contract, he’ll ask for a raise or to be traded. In the NFL, a “contract year” is pretty much any opportunity to bring up your contract.
Typically the ones who have no negotiating power are players on rookie deals (you can’t negotiate a new contract until after your third accrued season, a rule that Russell Wilson and his agent took isssue with after he won the Super Bowl in year 2) and players who just signed new contracts.
So for example, Byron Murphy II couldn’t get a new contract after the season even if he won the Defensive Player of the Year award. And although Sam Darnold could technically get a new contract after the season based on how valuable he’s been to the Seahawks relative to his $33 million AAV deal, it’s not going to happen because he’s only entering the second year of a three-year deal; Darnold will make $27.5 million in cash next year, which is hardly a lowball.
The Seahawks do have a talented slate of players who are scheduled to be free agents in 2025 and are therefore in contract years:
OLB Boye Mafe
RB Kenneth Walker
S Coby Bryant
CB Tariq Woolen
CB Josh Jobe
WR/KR Dareke Young
CB Derion Kendrick
DT Johnathan Hankins
ST Chazz Surratt
ST D’Anthony Bell
On that note, the Seahawks released TE Eric Saubert on Wednesday, although with an expectation that as a vested veteran he will be brought back onto the practice squad and probably return to the 53 at some point. Saubert will also be a free agent in 2026, with or without a return.
If this list seems daunting, as I’ve written several times in the past already there’s no shortage of Seahawks cap space to retain as many of these 2026 free agents as they want. Seattle is looking at roughly $80 million in 2026 cap space already—6th most in the league for now. Signing all of these players might not even take up half of that.
It’s hard to say which of these players will even be the most expensive next year given how they’ve performed in 2026, but let’s say that it’s Josh Jobe:
If Jobe signs the same deal as D.J. Reed, which was a three-year, $48 million contract with the Lions, his first-year cap hit would be under $5 million. Now that is a little misleading because the Lions put a $17 million void year on the contract in 2028 to bring down his cap number (a void year is a dummy season to spread out the cap hits, so Detroit will pay $17 million for Reed after his contract expires) but even so Seattle could do something similar or at worst the number shouldn’t exceed $9 million.
If you want the Seahawks to keep any of these players, or all of these players, you have nothing to fear. A parting of the ways could only be a football decision, not a financial one.
It’s mostly the players in danger of being cap casualties or looking for extensions that will be financial decisions.
Non-Contract Year Contract Year
Cap Casualty Decisions
OLB Uchenna Nwosu, $11.5m savings ($8.5m dead money)
Nwosu’s best game as a Charger came on January 9, 2022, which maybe noncoincidentally was also his last appearance before becoming a first-time free agent in 2022. Nwosu had a career-high 4 tackles for a loss, a career-high 7 tackles, a sack, 2 QB hits, and a pass deflection in a loss to the Raiders. A former Chargers teammate once mentioned that Nwosu had a sudden change of productivity only when he was reaching the end of a contract year.
A few months later, Nwosu signed a 2-year deal with the Seahawks, the length of which would keep any player motivated knowing that he could be extended again in 2023. That’s exactly what happened, as Seattle re-upped Nwosu to a three-year, $45 million, but he has unfortunately only played in 18 games since then.
In the first 14 of those games, Nwosu had 3 sacks: 2 against the Giants in 2023 and 1 against the Bears in 2024.
In the last 4 games, Nwosu has 5 sacks: 2 against the Cardinals, 0.5 against the Bucs, 1.5 against the Jaguars, and 1 against the Texans.
You think Nwosu realizes this is a contract year?
If Nwosu doesn’t have a good season — and a healthy season — the Seahawks will cut him and he’ll lose $11.5 million. Of course, he will recoup some of that in free agency, maybe he’ll even get more than that, but in both cases (release or kee) he is compelled and motivated to have a career-year.
WR Cooper Kupp, $9.5m savings ($8m dead money)
Kupp might be the best blocking receiver in the league and a good mentor for the NFL’s leader in yards (something he once was), but that’s not what receivers get paid for. Kupp is on pace for 58 catches, 712 yards, and 2 touchdowns.
He’s been a good weapon on third and short (10 targets, 7 first downs) but not third and medium or long (5 targets, 0 first downs). He has one red zone touchdown.
I never expected more than 700 yards out of Kupp, but he has a base salary of $13 million in 2026. It’s not prohibitive necessarily, but is it more than he’ll be worth? Working in his favor is that there is no clear favorite on the roster to take over as WR2 or WR3 in 2026. We can speculate about Tory Horton, but that’s all we can do is speculate.
OLB DeMarcus Lawrence, $7m savings ($4.3m dead money)
As good as Lawrence has been, we don’t even know if he wants to continue playing in 2026. Lawrence has three sacks, all of which have come in the last 2 games. At this rate the Seahawks would probably welcome him back if he wants to return, but at 34 that won’t be a sure thing.
K Jason Myers, $5.1m savings ($1.9m savings)
At this number, Myers would have to be outstanding. Whether blocked or missed, Myers has already missed as many kicks in 2025 (4) as he did in all of 2024. He is perfect on 22 extra points. He’s definitely in a non-contract year contract year and will need to end the season on a high note.
Veteran Raises
QB Sam Darnold: Signed through 2027
Like I said, I don’t foresee this being an issue until 2027. The Seahawks want to be strict on not extending players who have more than one year left on their deal, although if there was ever an exception it would be a franchise quarterback.
Let’s just speculate for fun that Darnold wins MVP and is that kinda guy. His take home pay next year is anything but pathetic and by waiting an extra year his ultimate reward will be worth some percentage more than that.
Lamar Jackson was drafted in 2018, won MVP in 2019, and he still didn’t get extended until 2023. That was two years after he was first eligible to be extended. By waiting, Jackson signed a contract with $135 million guaranteed. The deal that Josh Allen signed this year had $147 million guaranteed. By 2027, a quarterback could sign for $160 million+ guaranteed. (Of course Deshaun Watson got $230m guaranteed, far surpassing anyone else, but this was an outlier and a mistake.)
At this point, I don’t think Sam Darnold has to be in a hurry to get paid again. He’s past the point of being an established franchise quarterback.
DE Leonard Williams: Signed through 2026
When Williams signed a three-year, $64 million contract in 2024, it was kind of met with “really?” and seen as Seattle overpaying to justify the trade. Now you hear that Williams is only the 12th-highest paid at his position and it’s like, “REALLY?!?”
Williams is signed through 2026 but for all intents and purposes this is his contract year. If Williams keeps going like he’s going, he’s going to want the numbers close to $30 million. He is scheduled to make $16.5 million next year with bonuses, which is a lot of money but less than 15 other players at his position.
When Milton Williams got $26 million per year from the Patriots, you had to expect that Leonard Williams’ ears perked up.
Rookie Contract Negotiables
LT Charles Cross: 5th-year option
Cross will be in a contract year in 2026. The Seahawks can let it play out and dangle the 2027 franchise tag as leverage, or choose to extend him next summer like they did for Abe Lucas this past summer. Cross knows that he can make the decision much harder if he plays his ass off in 2025.
CB Devon Witherspoon: Eligible in 2026
Witherspoon is first-time eligible in 2026, but it is highly unlikely that John Schneider would go to the table with his agent like he’d probably have to do with Jaxon Smith-Njigba’s. Witherspoon has missed 5 games and won’t be a free agent until 2028, if Seattle picks up his fifth-year option.
WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba: Eligible in 2026
Yes, all the same contract rules apply to JSN, but there’s one huge difference: JSN is amazing. He’s in the running for Offensive Player of the Year.
The saving grace here for Seattle is that Justin Jefferson won Offensive Player of the Year in 2022, was eligible for a contract in 2023, but didn’t sign an extension with the Vikings until 2024. Jefferson didn’t pressure Minnesota to extend him early and when he signed he got $35 million per season and $110 million guaranteed, which was more than he would have gotten in 2023.
If JSN were to sign a contract in 2026, he might land somewhere between $35 and $40 million per year. If he waits until 2027, he could get between $40 and $45 million and he would definitely get more guaranteed than Jefferson and Ja’Marr Chase.
Although he is eligible and potentially on the verge of setting some records, I wouldn’t expect Smith-Njigba to create a holdout or a tense situation in 2026.
Seaside Joe 2425
I’m really loving the Don Draper references sprinkled throughout today’s newsletter!
Darnold is currently 13th in MVP odds (JSN is 15th) FWIW.
Baker Mayfield signed in March 2024 for essentially the same contract Darnold currently has.
The key contract to watch, I would think, is Daniel Jones. Daniel Jones and Sam Darnold have had comically similar careers. Jones is on a 1 year deal, you would think he will be resigned by the Colts, unless he completely falls apart like Darnold did last year and the Colts go a different direction like the Vikings (highly doubtful as the Vikings look like fools right now).
But I have a hard time seeing the retreads getting huge contracts. That is part of the reason to get the Baker, Geno, SD, and Danny Dimes of the world. SD was just a free agent and had little interest from the market.
Will Danny Dimes have a big FA market this offseason? Danny has better odds than SD to win MVP, FWIW. But still, I would doubt he would have a huge market.
I think the Seahawks will let this year and next playout then figure out what to do then depending on Daniel Jones' contract it would likely lay the path for SD just like Baker laid the path for his current one.
JSN though, oooooohhh boy. All bets are off here. He is young and the best player at his position. I think we will take the 5th year option and then it is either tag or record setting WR contract. And I don't see JS letting this uber talented player go.
Seahawks are in a great position! Tons of cap space ... Could even see adding some FAs or trade!