Getty Jamal Adams is willing to miss games without a new deal.
The Seattle Seahawks and Jamal Adams continue to be in a standoff as the star safety has yet to participate in training camp practices as he seeks a new contract. The Seattle Times’ Adam June and Bob Condotta reported the Seahawks have submitted their “final offer” to Adams with the team’s season opener just one month away from kickoff. The offer would make Adams the highest-paid safety in the league with an average annual salary of $17.5 million.
“When training camp began two weeks ago, the two sides were roughly $4 million apart in annual compensation for Adams, sources told The Seattle Times,” June and Condotta detailed. “After back-and forth negotiations over the next week, they were close to a meet-in-the-middle agreement. On Friday, the Seahawks made what they labeled their final offer: $17.5 million in total annual compensation on a four-year contract, with roughly $38 million guaranteed, a deal that would make Adams the highest-paid safety in the NFL.”
Adams Is Willing to Miss Games Without a New Deal
Adams is entering the final season of a four-year, $22.2 million rookie deal and is slated to make $9.86 million in 2021. The contract situation is not a surprise given the Seahawks traded for the safety after he grew frustrated with the Jets about his deal. Missing training camp practices is one thing, but Adams appears to be prepared to take the negotiations to the next level by missing regular-season games if the two sides do not come to an agreement.
“The Seahawks, a source said, are ‘not budging’ on their offer,” June and Condotta added. “And Adams, 25, has made it clear he will not play until his new deal is signed, even as he is ‘champing at the bit’ to practice with the team, another source said. Adams has remained active and engaged in team meetings throughout camp. The two sides have not engaged in negotiations since Friday [August 6], and each appears willing to wait out the other until deep into training camp.”
The Seahawks Want to Keep Bobby Wagner as the Team’s Highest-Paid Defender: Report
Part of the tension is the Seahawks want to keep Bobby Wagner as the team’s highest-paid defender, likely a sign of respect for the veteran who was drafted by the team in 2012. Seattle is willing to make Adams the highest-paid safety, but his representation is seeking something else of value if Wagner is going to maintain the top spot.
“The average per year, though, also would be just below the $18 million of middle linebacker Bobby Wagner, a key consideration for the Seahawks in leaving the 10-year veteran and longtime defensive captain as the highest-paid defensive player on the team,” June and Condotta explained. “Adams’ representatives seemed amenable to that salary package and then countered with what they saw as a reasonable request: $40 million in guarantees, $2 million more than the Seahawks’ offer. Adams’ camp also wanted to move bonus money into the first three years of the contract; the Seahawks prefer to spread it over all four years.”
Seattle Has the Franchise Tag to Use as Leverage
Much has been made about the Seahawks giving up two first-round picks to land Adams. This implies the Seahawks have little leverage in the negotiations but this is not entirely true.
As The Seattle Times pointed out, the Seahawks have the threat of using the franchise tag which gives Seattle the chance to retain Adams for at least the next three seasons. Despite the squabbling, ESPN’s Brady Henderson predicts a deal between the Seahawks and Adams will get done, citing agent Kevin Conner’s previous track record with Bills corner Tre’Davious White.
“This deal will get done, whether it’s this week or closer to the start of the season,” Henderson detailed. “It’s worth noting Adams’ agent, Kevin Conner, also negotiated Tre’Davious White’s extension with the Buffalo Bills, which was not completed until a week before last year’s opener. So it shouldn’t come as a total surprise these negotiations have also dragged into training camp.”