Seattle Seahawks QB Sam Darnold is heading into Year 2 of his three-year contract with the team. As a result, there’s chatter over the signal-caller’s current contract and whether he should be in line for a new one, as he will have one year left after this upcoming 2026 NFL season.
Nonetheless, despite playing a role in the Seahawks’ Super Bowl win, Seattle Sports’ Michael Bumpus doesn’t see Seattle giving Darnold a new contract that would make him part of the highest-paid signal-callers in the league.
However, he says Seattle should take care of their QB, and at least provide incentives to do so as an alternative to giving Darnold a new contract.
“Incentivize it,” Bumpus said on the May 12 edition of “Bump & Stacy.” “If you want to mix something up, put more incentives into his contract, right? After all, the guy is getting about $50 million a year, it’s him.
You have Jared Goff at $53 million, Jordan Love at $55 million, Deshaun [Watson] getting a bunch, and Lamar [Jackson] at $52 million. And if I’m his agent, my argument is, but those guys haven’t won a Super Bowl. My client has, and that’s what he should bring to the table.”
Sam Darnold Should Look to Increase His Paid
Last season, Darnold posted a 79.3 overall PFF grade, registering 4,048 passing yards and 25 touchdowns against 14 interceptions on 526 dropbacks. Moreover, he recorded 29 big-time throws and 19 turnover-worthy plays.
Moreover, Bumpus notes that he has no issue with Darnold and his representative getting paid. That wouldn’t be a surprise given that the signal-caller and his agent might be looking to benefit from winning the Super Bowl earlier this year.
“I think Sam Darnold seems to me, at least from the outside looking in, like a different breed of quarterback,“ Bumpus added. “He is not going to demand to be the highest-paid quarterback. Should he push for more money? Yes, he should. It is his agent’s responsibility to make sure he capitalizes on a season like this.
“So how can we meet in the middle? That is what this is about. How can we meet in the middle and make sure the player feels valued, and the organization does not feel like it is being cornered or forced into an ultimatum?”
Seahawks Get Clear Message on Devon Witherspoon Situation
Darnold isn’t the only player who’s the subject of contract discussion, as Devon Witherspoon is also looking for a new deal. The Seahawks have yet to agree to a new contract with the player, but Seattle Sports’ Stacy Rost isn’t ready to hit the panic button on the situation yet.
“I don’t think there’s something overly concerning going on, where you’ll see hostility from both sides, but you’d assume he and his agent are looking to reset the market,“ Rost wrote in a May 12 mailbag article.
“There could be a holdup based on anything from guaranteed money or disagreements about how much the market should be reset, or something as simple as this conversation being pushed back to a late offseason priority because of the draft.”
Seahawks QB Sam Darnold Gets Major Take on Current Contract