Saturday started off fantastic for the Seattle Seahawks, with news of a market-setting four-year, $132M contract extension with three-time Pro Bowler and 2023 first round pick Devon Witherspoon.
The extension gives John Schneider and Mike Macdonald both of the superstar 2023 first round pick in Witherspoon and Jaxon Smith-Njigba under contract through 2031 and secures two of the biggest playmakers in the league for the foreseeable future.
With that said, here’s a look at breakdown of the four-year,
$132 extension:
- Signing bonus: $26,000,000 (fully guaranteed)
- 2027 option bonus: $24,000,000 (fully guaranteed)
- 2029 option bonus: $9,000,000 (guaranteed for injury, vests into full guarantee the Friday after the 2027 Super Bowl)
- 2026 base salary: $1,145,000 (fully guaranteed)
- 2027 base salary: $3,061,000 (fully guaranteed)
- 2028 base salary: $15,900,000 (guaranteed for injury, vests into full guarantee the Friday after the 2027 Super Bowl)
- 2029 base salary: $14,900,000 (guaranteed for injury, vests into full guarantee the Friday after the 2028 Super Bowl)
- 2030 base salary: $23,200,000
- 2031 base salary: $28,600,000
- 2031 roster bonus: $3,000,000
- 2027-2031 per game roster bonuses totaling $850,000 each season ($50,000 per game)
- 2027-2031 offseason workout bonus $250,000 per year
Of course, that’s a long list of a lot of big numbers, and what most fans actually care about most is the cap hit, so here are how the cap numbers for each year of the contract:
- 2026: $15.387,639: $1,145,000 base salary (fully guaranteed) + $5,042,750 pro rated signing bonus (2023 contract) + $5,200,000 pro rated signing bonus (2026 extension) + $3,949,702 2026 roster bonus
- 2027: $14,311,000: $3,061,000 base salary (fully guaranteed) + $5,200,000 pro rated signing bonus (2026 extension) + $4,800,000 pro rated 2027 option bonus + $850,000 per game roster bonuses (fully guaranteed) + $250,000 workout bonus (fully guaranteed)
- 2028: $27,150,000: $15,900,000 base salary (guaranteed for injury, vests to full guarantee Friday after 2027 Super Bowl) + $5,200,000 pro rated signing bonus (2026 extension) + $4,800,000 pro rated 2027 option bonus + $850,000 per game roster bonuses + $250,000 workout bonus
- 2029: $27,950,000: $14,900 base salary (guaranteed for injury, vests to full guarantee Friday after 2028 Super Bowl) + $5,200,000 pro rated signing bonus (2026 extension) + $4,800,000 pro rated 2027 option bonus + $1,800,000 pro rated 2029 option bonus + $850,000 per game roster bonuses + $250,000 workout bonus
- 2030: $36,250,000: $23,200,000 base salary + $5,200,000 pro rated signing bonus (2026 extension) + $4,800,000 pro rated 2027 option bonus + $1,800,000 2029 option bonus + $850,000 per game roster bonuses + $250,000 workout bonus
- 2031: $39,400,000: $28,600,000 base salary + $4,800,000 pro rated 2027 option bonus + $1,800,000 2029 option bonus + $850,000 per game roster bonuses + $250,000 workout bonus
- 2032 (void year): $3,600,000: $1,800,000 pro rated 2029 option bonus + $1,800,000 pro rated 2029 option bonus
Not included in the new money of the extension is the roster bonus of $3,949,702 that Witherspoon earned under his rookie contract shortly after reporting for training camp back in July. With that roster bonus included, Witherspoon is now under contract with the Seahawks through the 2031 season for a total amount of $158,255,000, or an average of $26,380,00 per year when the last year of his rookie contract and the fifth-year option are included in the total.
