Just days remain until the Seattle Seahawks host the New England Patriots in the first meaningful NFL football game since the Seattle Seahawks walloped the New England Patriots 29-13 in Super Bowl 60 to bring home the second Lombardi Trophy in franchise history.
But, last year is last year, and 2026 is a new season. That, of course, means it’s time for the Seahawks to defend their Super Bowl title, and when they take on the Patriots Wednesday in the season opening game it will mark the first time defensive
lineman Leonard Williams takes to the field since signing a three-year, $90 million contract extension with Seattle in late August.
Leonard Williams contract extension details
For those fans who have been curious about the details of Williams’ new contract extension, here is how it lays out:
- Signing bonus: $22M
- 2026: Base salary: 3.8M (fully guaranteed), per game roster bonuses: $850k
- 2027: Option bonus: $10M (vesting guarantee), base salary: $10.73M (vesting guarantee), per game roster bonus: $1.02M, workout bonus: $250k
- 2028: Option bonus: $10M ($5.35M vesting guarantee), base salary: $12.73M, per game roster bonus: $1.02M, workout bonus: $250k
- 2029: Base salary: $32.73M, per game roster bonus: $1.02M, workout bonus: $250k
- 2030 & 2031: void years for cap management purposes
That’s a lot of numbers, and most fans want them distilled down to cap hits, so here are the cap hits over the life of the contract:
- 2026: $22.036M (base salary $3.8M, signing bonus proration from 2024 free agent contract $8.3M, signing bonus proration from 2026 extension $4.4M, proration of 2025 base salary to signing bonus conversion $4.686M, per game roster bonuses $850k)
- 2027: $23.086M (base salary: $10.73M, signing bonus proration from 2026 extension $4.4M, proration of 2025 base salary to signing bonus conversion $4.686M, proration of 2027 option bonus $2M, per game roster bonuses $1.02M, workout bonus $250k)
- 2028: $27.586M (base salary: $12.73M, signing bonus proration from 2026 extension $4.4M, proration of 2025 base salary to signing bonus conversion $4.686M, proration of 2027 option bonus $2M, proration of 2028 option bonus $2.5M, per game roster bonuses $1.02M, workout bonus $250k)
- 2029: $42.9M (base salary $32.73M, signing bonus proration from 2026 extension $4.4M, proration of 2027 option bonus $2.5M, proration of 2028 option bonus $2M, per game roster bonuses $1.02M, workout bonus $250k)
- 2030 (void year, not on roster): $13.4M (signing bonus from 2026 extension $4.4M, proration of 2027 option bonus $2M, proration of 2028 option bonus $2.5M, 2031 proration of 2027 option bonus accelerated into 2030 due to voiding, $2M, 2031 proration of 2028 option bonus accelerated into 2030 due to voiding $2.5M)
In addition, according to Pro Football Talk, the contract includes an escalator for 2028 if Williams is a first- or second-team All-Pro in 2027, along with an incentive for the same in 2028. That, of course, raises the question why the Seahawks would use an escalator in one season and an incentive in the next.
The answer to that question likely rests in the cap situation the front office anticipates for 2027. Specifically, as of right now with just 40 players under contract for the 2027 season the Seahawks are looking at roughly $30M of cap space, which means once they sign their draft picks, build out the practice squad and set aside money for injury replacements during the season, they aren’t exactly looking at being flush with cap space. However, for 2028 they are currently looking at having north of $100M of available cap, and that is the clue as to why the All-Pro incentives are structured the way they are.
To get directly to the point, if Williams is selected as an All-Pro during the 2026 season, then an incentive for All-Pro for 2027 would be considered likely to be earned and would count the full $2M against the cap for the duration of the season. The Seahawks would only get that cap space back after the season when the league does the end of year incentive netting, meaning that if Williams is an All-Pro in 2026 it would tie up $2M of valuable 2027 cap space regardless of how well he plays.
In contrast, by making the $2M for 2027 an escalator instead of an incentive, Williams still gets the exact same $2M if he is an All-Pro that year, but it puts the cap hit for that $2M in the 2028 league year instead of 2027. Then, in 2028 when the cap situation should not be nearly as tight, the team can much more easily handle a $2M likely to be earned incentive, so for 2028 the $2M is in the form of an incentive.
The next piece worth noting is that many fans will certainly look at the cap numbers of the contract and point out that there is no way the team will keep Williams around at age 35 in 2029 on a $42.9M cap hit. That is entirely possible, but it is worth noting that should Seattle move on from Williams after the 2028 season, the team would recognize $22.3M of dead money in the form of:
- $8.8M unamortized signing bonus from 2026 extension
- $6M unamortized from 2027 option bonus
- $7.5M unamortized from 2028 option bonus
Not predicting anything one way or another at this point, simply pointing out what could be.
Lastly, one other item of note which will bear watching over the coming seasons is the vesting guarantees of the contract. As has been noted time and again here at Field Gulls, under John Schneider the Seahawks do not put fully guaranteed money past the first year of a contract, and that is the same in this contract. All the guarantees in this extension in 2027 or later are in the traditional structure used by the team where they are guaranteed for injury at signing, and vest into full guarantees the Friday after the Super Bowl in the year of the guarantee.
For 2027 those guarantees are in the form of Williams’ $10.73M base salary and the $10M option bonus. More interesting, though, is 2028 when $5.35M of the $10M option bonus is guaranteed for injury at signing, and will vest into a full guarantee the Friday after the Super Bowl.
What makes that so interesting is that once they look at an online salary cap page, many fans may be quick to point out that the Seahawks could save nearly $10M of 2028 cap space by moving on from a 34-year old Williams, but that’s not accurate. First it’s not accurate because as of publication today the dead money numbers listed on those salary cap pages do not currently include any of the 2027 option bonus money. In addition, because of the vesting guarantee for $5.35M of the 2028 option bonus, if Seattle were to move on from Williams once that guarantee has vested, the dead money the team would recognize would be:
- $31.236M (2025 base salary to signing bonus proration $4.686M, 2026 signing bonus proration $13.2M, 2027 option bonus proration $8M, 2028 option bonus portion that is effectively fully guaranteed $5.35M)
Given that Williams is set to carry a $27.586M cap hit for 2028, moving on after the guarantee vests would result in a net loss of cap space, while even moving on before the guarantee vests – assuming he finishes the season healthy and would even be able to – would free up only $1.7M of 2028 cap space.
Boiling it all down, based on the contract structure there is every reason to believe Williams will be wreaking havoc on opposing offenses for the next three seasons, which should be quite enjoyable for everyone except opposing offenses.
