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The Seattle Seahawks made Jamal Adams the highest-paid safety in the NFL on Tuesday, and their decision to agree to a four-year, $70 million deal averaging $17 million per season will have a ripple effect felt across the league.
Most important for the New Orleans Saints, it’s going to impact their negotiations with franchise tagged-free safety Marcus Williams in the spring. Because Williams and the Saints weren’t able to cut a deal before the NFL deadline this summer, they’ll have to stand pat and return to the negotiating table in the spring.
Now, let’s be clear: Williams will not get that same $17 million per-year payout. He and Adams play very different positions (see below), and Adams has racked up many more accolades — while Williams has yet to earn his first Pro Bowl nod or All-Pro selection, Adams has already done both three times (including an All-Pro first team spot in 2019). That matters in these talks.
And, again: they each have wildly different responsibilities in the New Orleans and Seattle defenses. Williams is a conventional free safety, lining up either single-high or in two-safety looks. Adams is asked to play a broader range of positions which sees him line up much closer to the line of scrimmage. A better comparison for Adams would really be Malcolm Jenkins. Just look at where they line up, per snap-by-snap Pro Football Focus charting:
But let’s get back to how Adams’ payday helps Williams. While this division between assignments for each player is crystal-clear, that distinction isn’t made often in contract talks. Adams is going to be set at the top of the list when safety salaries are ranked across the league.
If Williams wanted to be paid like a top-five safety, here’s how that list shook out before Adams moved to the top at $17 million per year:
- Justin Simmons: $15.25 million
- Budda Baker: $14.75 million
- Eddie Jackson: $14.6 million
- Kevin Byard: $14.1 million
- Landon Collins, Tyrann Mathieu: $14 million
NewOrleans.Football’s Nick Underhill reported in July that the Saints’ final offer to Williams “would have put him in the upper tier” for average yearly salary, so this is significant. That suggests an average annual value (AAV) greater than $14 million. The average of these five contracts would be $14.54 million, which feels appropriate for Williams.
But now Adams tips the scale. His $17 million figure at the top raises the top-five average up to $15.14 million, which is a $600,000 yearly increase. That may not seem like much when throwing these kind of numbers around, but it’s the difference between a proposed four-year, $58.16 million contract extension and a four-year, $60.56 million deal. That $2.4 million difference is greater than what many players are receiving (like Marquez Callaway, who is playing on a three-year, $2.295 million deal), so contributing added resources to Williams have an impact at other positions.
The business side of football isn’t pretty. It’s full of tough decisions and careful calculations. And in this case, Williams and his agent appear to have won by choosing to wait it out. If he turns in another great year for the Saints, they’ll have to meet a higher price point to re-sign him next March or consider a second use of the franchise tag. With other young star safeties around the league on the road towards their own new contracts — Minkah Fitzpatrick and Jessie Bates come to mind — the price is only going to climb higher. Here’s hoping Williams and the Saints are able to cut a deal.
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