With #DeflateGate and #FistsOfFury it’s been easy to forget what has become one of the most forgettable holdouts in recent years. Seahawks safety Kam Chancellor hasn’t reported for training camp, the team has shown no signs of budging on his demands for a new deal, and no one seems to really notice.
On one hand, Seattle set a precedent in 2014 by rewarding running back Marshawn Lynch with a new deal during a holdout. On the other hand, Lynch didn’t have three years left on his contract.
The wild-card in this case is the player’s expectations. Per a source with knowledge of the situation, Chancellor was under the impression that, after he established himself as one of the top safeties in the game, his contract would be adjusted to reflect that. When Chancellor signed his current deal, he sacrificed some of the upside in exchange for a certain degree of security at a time when the Seahawks still had plenty of other core guys to sign.
Now that those core guys have been signed, Chancellor expects to have his terms tweaked to put his deal more in line with safety Earl Thomas, who made more than $14 million in 2014. At Chancellor’s current terms, he’ll have to play 2015, 2016, and two thirds of the 2017 season to make $14 million.
In 2013, Chancellor signed a four-year, $28 million extension that runs through 2017. As he enters what should be the most productive years of his career, the thinking is that now is the time to ensure the highest level of compensation; by the time 2018 comes, he’ll be turning 30 -- which could keep the Seahawks or other teams from thinking that he can keep performing as well as he currently can.
None of this means the Seahawks will budge, especially after paying big money to quarterback Russell Wilson and linebacker Bobby Wagner and cutting defensive tackle Tony McDaniel due to cap concerns. But that’s why Chancellor hasn’t shown up. If they won’t blink, the question eventually becomes whether he’ll sacrifice game checks.
