Seahawks can escape Sam Darnold's deal after one year, $37.5 million

In some respects, the posting of an item on PFT operates like a bat signal.

Stymied in our effort through usual channels to get a full breakdown of quarterback Sam Darnold's three-year, $100.5 million deal with Seattle, we posted a little while ago that the numbers aren’t available.

And, within 20 minutes, the numbers arrived.

Per a source with knowledge of the terms, here's the rough breakdown:

1. 2025 compensation: $37.5 million, fully guaranteed.

2. 2026 compensation: $27.5 million, $17.5 million of which is guaranteed for injury and becomes fully guaranteed in the week after Super Bowl LX.

3. 2027 compensation: $35.5 million, non-guaranteed.

The deal also includes $2 million per year for individual performance, $2.5 million per year for postseason performance, and $500,000 per year for team performance.

The structure allows the Seahawks to escape the contract after one year and $37.5 million. While it's generally frowned upon for teams to scrap contracts when the guarantee flips from injury-only to full in the early days of the waiver period, that's what the Raiders did with Derek Carr in 2023. (The good news for the player is that it gives him a head start on free agency, by more than a month.)

If the Seahawks pick up the second year of the Darnold contract at $27.5 million, it's a two-year, $65 million deal. That's an average of $32.5 million per year.

The upside of $5 million per year could push the total value of the contract from $33.5 million per year to $38.5 million per year. Unlocking those payments would entail the kind of player/team performance that would make the Seahawks more than happy to pay every penny.

Bottom line? If Darnold regresses in 2025, he could be released after only one season. And the Seahawks will be out only $37.5 million. With Geno Smith apparently looking for much more than $37.5 million per year on a new deal in Seattle, the strategic decision to pivot from Smith to Darnold makes sense — even if it ultimately puts the Seahawks back in the market for a quarterback a year from now.

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