Receiver Golden Tate is one of just a few key contributors of the Seattle Seahawks set to become an unrestricted free agent following the team’s victory in Super Bowl XLVIII.
Tate posted the best numbers of his career in nearly all categories in helping Seattle win their first championship. Tate caught 64 passes for 898 yards and five touchdowns for the Seahawks. He also had 51 punt returns for 585 yards on the season.
In an interview with Ian Furness and Jason Puckett of Sports Radio 950 KJR in Seattle on Tuesday, Tate said he’s very open to taking a hometown discount (22-minute mark) to remain with the Seahawks in the coming seasons.
“I probably shouldn’t even say this right now but I’m going to say it anyway just because I love Seattle, honestly, I would rather take a little less to be happy and win ball games than to take way more and go to a crappy city where the fans don’t give a crap about the team. You win a game once a month of something like that. I would much rather stay in the situation that I have now for a little less than to go and try to break the bank somewhere else,” Tate said.
In order for Seattle to keep all of the talent they’ve stockpiled on their roster, players will have to be amenable to taking less money to remain with the team. With extensions likely in the coming seasons for Earl Thomas, Richard Sherman and Russell Wilson, it will be a challenge for Carroll and Schneider to structure contracts to keep the roster intact.
His agent probably won’t be thrilled that Tate stated his desire to take less money so clearly, but Tate obviously feels comfortable in his role with the Seahawks. However, Tate still wants to be compensated adequately for the production he has posted for Seattle the last few seasons.
“At the same time, I don’t want to be disrespected by any means,” Tate said. “I want to be able to take care of myself and my family for the rest of my life at the same time. We’ll see. That’s what I have my agent for. I plan to have some conversations with Pete (Carroll) and the G.M. (John Schneider) and hopefully we can work something out.”
In the end, players want to win. Seattle’s proven they can win at the highest level with their first Super Bowl win. They will have a strong chance to repeat with the roster returning next season and Tate wants to remain a part of it.