Seahawks cornerback Devon Witherspoon got his new contract on Saturday. And we’ve gotten the full breakdown of the deal.
Here are the full terms of the four-year extension (six-year contract), per a source with knowledge of the terms:
1. Signing bonus: $26 million.
2. 2026 base salary: $1.145 million, fully guaranteed.
3. 2027 option bonus: $24 million.
4. 2027 offseason workout bonus: $250,000, fully guaranteed (but must be earned).
5. 2027 base salary: $3.061 million.
6. 2027 per-game active roster bonus: $850,000 total, fully guaranteed (but must be earned).
7. 2028 offseason workout bonus: $250,000, guaranteed for injury and fully guaranteed on the fifth day of the 2028 waiver period (but must be earned).
8. 2028 base salary: $15.9 million, guaranteed for injury and fully guaranteed on the fifth day of the 2028 waiver period.
9. 2028 per-game active roster bonus: $850,000 total, guaranteed for injury and fully guaranteed on the fifth day of the 2028 waiver period (but must be earned).
10. 2029 option bonus: $9 million, guaranteed for injury and fully guaranteed on the fifth day of the 2029 waiver period.
11. 2029 offseason workout bonus: $250,000, guaranteed for injury and fully guaranteed on the fifth day of the 2029 waiver period (but must be earned).
12. 2029 base salary: $14.9 million, guaranteed for injury and fully guaranteed on the fifth day of the 2029 waiver period.
13. 2029 per-game roster bonus: $850,000 total, guaranteed for injury and fully guaranteed on the fifth day of the 2029 waiver period (but must be earned).
14. 2030 offseason workout bonus: $250,000.
15. 2030 base salary: $23.2 million.
16. 2030 per-game active roster bonus: $850,000 total.
17. 2031 offseason workout bonus: $250,000.
18. 2031 offseason roster bonus: $3 million.
19. 2031 base salary: $28.6 million.
20. 2031 per-game roster bonus: $850,000.
The four new years have an average of $33 million per year. The total payout, including a training-camp roster bonus of $3.949702 million, is $158.255 million. That equates to an average from signing of $26.38 million.
The payout for the first two years, including the training-camp roster bonus, is $59.255 million. The two seasons are fully guaranteed at signing.
The third year vests in the days after the 2028 Super Bowl, and the fourth year vests in the days after the 2029 Super Bowl. The injury guarantee at signing is $101.255 million.
Seahawks Clips
Seahawks cornerback Devon Witherspoon is the highest-paid player in the league at his position. It may not last for long.
Witherspoon’s four-year, $132 million extension sets the new-money APY bar at $33 million. Gonzalez will now try to leapfrog that number.
It was the plan all along, especially since Witherspoon and Gonzalez are represented by the same firm. Witherspoon first, Gonzalez second.
Both had been practicing while awaiting their rewards for three solid NFL seasons. Gonzalez has missed multiple sessions in recent days, but the absence has been attributed to an injury. (Even if it’s an “injury.”)
“He’s not ready to get back out there and practice yet,” Patriots coach Mike Vrabel told reporters on Saturday.
Vrabel also was asked whether team and player are on the same page, given his contract status.
“Absolutely,” Vrabel said. “And I think that’s the important thing. I’ve talked about his professionalism, everybody else’s. So, this isn’t anything like that. It was something that happened in practice, and he’s where he’s supposed to be when he needs to be there. Treatment, working with Frank [Piraino] and doing those things. But yes, obviously, that’s my job, is to be on the same page with everybody here, players and coaches. And I’m confident that that’s what we are doing, and everybody has a plan each and every day.”
The plan likely will now come into closer focus, given that Witherspoon’s deal is done. Late last month, Patriots owner Robert Kraft said the team had offered a deal that would make Gonzalez the highest-paid cornerback in the NFL.
The bar has now moved to something more than $33 million per year. Once the details are in on the Witherspoon deal, it should be pretty easy to nail the proper amount and structure.
The first domino has fallen in the fourth-year cornerback contract standoff.
Devon Witherspoon has agreed to a four-year extension with the Seahawks, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports.
The deal is worth $132 million with $101 million guaranteed, which makes Witherspoon the highest-paid cornerback in league history.
Witherspoon was the No. 5 overall pick of the 2023 draft. He’s been selected to the Pro Bowl in each of his first three seasons, and was an integral part of the Seattle defense that won Super Bowl LX in February.
In his 43 career games, Witherspoon has recorded 32 passes defensed, two interceptions, and 4.5 sacks. He’s also recorded four passes defensed and a sack in his three postseason games.
With Witherspoon’s deal done, attention now turns to the Patriots and cornerback Christian Gonzalez. The No. 17 overall pick of the same draft, Gonzalez has also been seeking a contract extension in training camp. Gonzalez and Witherspoon share the same agent.
Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold will not play the team’s preseason opener against the Cowboys on Saturday.
Instead, it will be Drew Lock and Jalen Milroe in a rotation, Mike Macdonald said.
“Sam’s not going to play,” Macdonald said, via Curtis Crabtree of Fox 13 Seattle. “Drew will start the game, and then Jalen will come in, and they’ll rotate to some degree.
“Normally a quarterback goes until he doesn’t go, and then the next guy goes and closes the game out. This game, I think we’re going to rotate them to some extent.”
Darnold’s absence is not a surprise, given the Seahawks have two more preseason games. The Seahawks’ next preseason game is Aug. 23 at Tennessee.
Rookie running back Jadarian Price also won’t play. He has missed practice time of late due to lower-body soreness but did participate in a walkthrough Wednesday.
“He’s on the mend,” Macdonald said.
Seahawks defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence thought about retiring after the 2025 season, but he won’t go through the same process after the 2026 campaign.
Lawrence told Jori Epstein of Yahoo Sports that “this will be my last year” as an NFL player. Lawrence is entering his 13th season.
Given Lawrence’s previous flirtation with retirement, it’s not a great surprise that he has decided to make this his swan song.
Lawrence joined the Seahawks last year after 11 seasons with the Cowboys and posted 53 tackles, six sacks, two fumble returns for touchdowns and three forced fumbles in the regular season. He had two more sacks in the playoffs to help the Seahawks secure the franchise’s second Super Bowl title.
Lawrence had 503 tackles, 61.5 sacks, two interceptions, 21 forced fumbles and eight fumble recoveries while with Dallas. He’s been selected for five Pro Bowls and was a second-team All-Pro once.
The Seahawks have an agreement with free-agent cornerback Terrion Arnold. It’s not clear when he’ll be joining the team.
Coach Mike Macdonald told reporters on Friday that the “timetable is being worked out” for his arrival.
“We’re working through that and when’s the best time for him to come in, but we have an agreement with him and we’ll see,” Macdonald said, via the HawkBlogger Twitter account. “But I just really don’t know what, you know, how we’re gonna do it.”
Macdonald also explained the decision to strike a deal with Arnold, who is facing eight felony charges in Florida that carry a potential sentence of life in prison.
“I think it was an opportunity to bring on a player that we felt strongly about during the draft process,” Macdonald said, “and we also understand that it’s a serious situation with a legal matter that’s, you know — there’s a process behind it, so we respect that. And that’s how we’ll operate, too, and just letting that process play out and let the league decide, if and when, you know, if his return to play is — then we’ll just kind of understand that that’s at play, but there’s also an opportunity to bring him in and give him an opportunity to earn a position here.
“But, you know, we feel really strongly about our locker room and our team, and how we had a great visit with Terrion. And obviously, we knew him going throughout the process, and I referenced the folks that had been in his corner throughout the whole process, as well, and, you know, we respect those people. And, you know, we’re not gonna ignore those folks that we really respect and have a strong opinion about it as well. So, kind of, we put all those things together, it felt like it was a good opportunity for the team.”
Macdonald also explained the balance between the player’s skills and the other issues.
“When he gets in the building, we’ll go about our business like we normally do, and go try to be the best version of us that we can possibly be, and that includes him,” Macdonald said. “And that’s the message to our team on the daily. We want our players to come in and be the best version of themselves, and we believe that if you do that, then the team’s gonna be better for it as well. So [for] Terrion [it] will be the same process with him if and when he gets here.”
That last part is important. “If and when he gets here.” The process could still be short-circuited.
It remains fair to wonder whether Arnold’s skills and abilities justify the P.R. fallout, especially since the Lions decided to cut him. With a new owner due to potentially be approved in only 12 days, the Seahawks are rolling the dice, in multiple ways. Even if the front office ran the move by incoming owner Vinod Khosla, every decision that current management makes will contribute to the assessment by Khosla and the rest of the ownership group of the organization they’ll be inheriting.
With no guarantee that Arnold will ever play for the Seahawks in a regular-season game, it’s a calculated risk that may have been influenced by the naturally inflated confidence that comes from winning a Super Bowl. And it’s the kind of decision that could become a factor if/when Khosla and company are balancing the pros and cons of making significant changes.
Before Super Bowl LX between the Seahawks and the Patriots, New England legend Tom Brady rankled his former team’s fans (and some current and former Patriots players), by declaring that he didn’t have a “dog in the fight.”
Former teammate and current Patriots coach Mike Vrabel wasn’t bothered by the remark.
“Clearly Tom’s gone out of his way to make it known that he’s trying to, you know — he has a new job and a new role and, you know, it is really what it is,” Vrabel told WEEI on Friday. “Tom’s a friend, he’ll always be a friend. He was a former teammate, but, I mean, he’s made it clear, like, ‘I’m doing something new now.’”
Vrabel was also asked about another issue that emerged in recent weeks, due to Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald’s comment to Dan Patrick that Macdonald consulted with someone before the game who had “some conflict of interest.” Although Macdonald was not referring to Brady, Vrabel was asked whether he believes Brady talked to Macdonald before the game.
“Probably,” Vrabel said. “He hired his offensive coordinator. I mean, that’s not why we lost the game. Like, we talked to a lot of people, and, you know, there’s a lot of film, and it’s not why we lost the game. . . . I mean, I’m sure they talked.”
The connection to former Seatle offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak always made it plausible that Brady would have tried to help the Seahawks. With Kubiak slated to take over the Raiders, it was better for the Raiders if Kubiak arrived as the coordinator of the offense of the team that won the most recent championship. And Vrabel understands that.
Brady is an owner of the Raiders. He’s in competition with the Patriots. If anything, Brady did have a dog in the fight. The Seahawks and Kubiak winning provided an incremental benefit to the franchise Brady now partially owns.
Now that cornerback Terrion Arnold is close to being under contract again with an NFL team, the next question is whether the NFL will exercise its prerogative to place him on paid leave.
Arnold faces eight felony charges arising from a February 2026 armed robbery and kidnapping. If convicted, Arnold could be imprisoned for life.
The Seahawks nevertheless agreed to terms with him on Thursday, at a time when multiple other teams were interested.
Arnold was also officially arraigned on Thursday, by Zoom. He’s due to appear in court for his next hearing, on October 5.
The next move will be up to the league office. He could be placed on the Commissioner Exempt list immediately. Or the NFL could wait to do it until the end of the preseason. Or the NFL could choose to not do it at all.
During the latest episode of Hard Knocks, Seahawks G.M. John Schneider told coach Mike Macdonald that assistant G.M. Joey Schneider believes Arnold will be permitted to play in the preseason. This indicates an awareness of the very real possibility that the league will put Arnold on paid leave before Week 1, when the Seahawks host the Patriots in the opening game of the 2026 regular season.
Given the risk that Arnold will end up on paid leave, it’s fair to wonder why the Seahawks are rolling the dice on a player who had two so-so seasons after being a first-round pick of the Lions in 2024. If the juice was worth the squeeze, why would the Lions have cut him?
Throw in the fact that the Seahawks could have a new owner in less than two weeks, and it seems like the possibility of an embarrassment outweighs the potential benefit to the team..
Then again, a Super Bowl win gives a team a large stack of chips. As one source with another team put it, “They won and they don’t care.”
It’s also a chance to get an up-close look at Arnold (pending placement on paid leave), in the event he eventually beats the charges and is able to return to the NFL.
Still, barring a sudden decision by the prosecution to dismiss all charges, the decision to sign Arnold is a head-scratcher. As Simms said on Thursday’s PFT Live, it could be a product of the simple reality that former first-round picks, like cats, often have nine lives. The more pressing question for Arnold is whether he’ll spend the rest of his natural life behind bars.
Free agent cornerback Terrion Arnold has agreed to terms with the Seahawks, according to multiple reports.
Arnold worked out for the Seahawks on Sunday and also had visits to the Texans, Saints and Giants.
The NFL now must decide whether to place Arnold on the Commissioner’s Exempt List. The third-year player faces four felony counts each of armed robbery and kidnapping.
In the second episode of Hard Knocks, the Seahawks indicated they believe Arnold will be allowed to practice and play in the preseason.
The Lions waived Arnold on June 29 following his arrest in Florida.
His arraignment, scheduled for Thursday, was handled earlier on Zoom, per Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times. His next scheduled court date is a status hearing on Oct. 5 at which he is required to appear in person in Tampa.
The Lions drafted Arnold in the first round in 2024, and he played 24 games with 22 starts over two seasons. He has totaled 91 tackles, an interception and 18 pass breakups.
Twelve years after Steve Ballmer bought the L.A. Clippers for an eye-popping (at the time) $2 billion, the other Los Angeles NBA team is going for $10.5 billion more.
Via Ramona Shelburne of ESPN, Bob Iger and Josh Kushner will purchase a controlling interest in the Lakers at a record valuation of $12.5 billion, just 14 months after Mark Walter acquired the team at a valuation of $10 billion.
Iger and Kushner had previously expressed interest in acquiring an NBA expansion franchise in Las Vegas.
Walter, per Shelburne, is currently under federal investigation for tax fraud. It’s unclear whether that specific situation prompted him to flip the team so quickly.
The news comes just weeks after a group led by Vinod Khosla agreed to buy the Seahawks for $9.612 billion, shattering the prior record ($6.05 billion) for controlling interest in an NFL franchise. It’s surprising that a team in the lesser pro sports league would sell for nearly $3 billion more.
Yes, it’s the Lakers. Which invites speculation as to the price the Cowboys would fetch, if they were on the market. Would America’s Team go for $15 billion? $20 billion?
Regardless, the Lakers have now sold twice in less than a year and a half for a higher price than any NFL team has ever generated.
