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The Seattle Seahawks signed Geno Smith to a good-sized contract last offseason, and after a disappointing 2023 campaign that ended without a return trip to the playoffs, the organization has some decisions to make about its quarterback. On Thursday, Feb. 15, the franchise made its first QB choice of the offseason and leaked that they will be allowing Smith’s $12.5 million salary for next season to guarantee.
“Seahawks QB Geno Smith, who has $12.7 million in his contract that becomes fully-guaranteed on Friday, was informed today that he will remain on the roster through this week, allowing that money to trigger, sources tell ESPN,” insider Adam Schefter reported on Thursday. “The $12.7 million now converts from injury guaranteed to fully-guaranteed, assuring that Smith will collect the money.”
After making the announcement that Smith’s contract will become fully guaranteed, Schefter shared some inside intel on why general manager John Schneider and new head coach Mike McDonald are making this decision.
“The Seahawks believed that, in today’s market, with salaries soaring for starting quarterbacks, the right decision was to pay the money, per sources,” Schefter wrote in a separate tweet. “Now Geno Smith will represent a value to them – or any other team that decides to reach out to see if it can acquire Smith via trade. But Seattle now has locked in Smith, and Smith has locked in his $12.7 million.”
The Geno Smith Contract is a Value
In a land of $40-$50 million deals, the $25 million-per-year Geno Smith contract does look like a steal.
When announced last offseason, the Seahawks-Smith contract was announced as a three-year, $75 million contract with 40 million guaranteed, and an average annual salary of $25,000,000, per Spotrac.
However, in essence, this was a one-year, $25.7 million deal that the team could get out of and save over $13.8 million on next year’s books. With Thursday’s announcement and Friday’s guarantee kicking in, Smith will now have a cap hit of $31.2 million. That breaks down to the $12.7 million (now fully guaranteed) base salary, $8.7 million in signing bonus, a $9.6 million roster bonus, and a $200,000 workout bonus.
With a base salary restructure, that $31.2 million cap hit can drop to $25.4 million, which is an excellent figure for a QB contract in the NFL these days. For context — and many of these will get a restructure or an extension this offseason — Deshaun Watson comes into the 2024 offseason with a $63.9 million cap hit.
Smith is currently 12th in the NFL, behind Dak Prescott, Patrick Mahomes, Kyler Murray, Matthew Stafford, Daniel Jones, Josh Allen, Derek Carr, Russell Wilson, Lamar Jackson, and Jared Goff in 2024 cap hit.
Obviously, Seahawks fans would take Mahomes or Allen over Smith in a heartbeat. That said the fact that players like Jones, Carr, Wilson, and others are also making more has to make the franchise feel good about the deal, which is why they made this announcement.
This Doesn’t Mean Smith is the Seattle QB for 2024
The key sentence in the second Adam Schefter tweet on Thursday was, “or any other team that decides to reach out to see if it can acquire Smith via trade.”
These “leaks” to insiders like Shefty and others are often not accidental. They are pointed messages to a player, the fans, or other teams about what is going on within the organization. With that line from Schefter, the Seahawks are letting the NFL know that they are open for business if anyone wants a functional quarterback on a reasonable contract.
Smith didn’t have the best season in 2023. He played in 15 games, went 8-7 as the starter, and threw for 3,624 yards with a 64.7% completion percentage with 20 touchdowns and 9 interceptions. Save for throwing two fewer picks than last season, all his numbers were worse than in 2022.
Still, PFF ranked Smith as the 14th-highest graded QB in the league last season, and with the 12th-biggest contract currently, his production and stats just about match up.
Could a team like the Atlanta Falcons or Pittsburgh Steelers — who might think they are just a competent quarterback away from contention — make an offer the Seahawks can’t refuse? The Seattle brass seems to think that’s a possibility.
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