Tag: D.K. Metcalf contract

D.K. Metcalf, Seahawks both got a fair deal with new contract

For now, both sides got a fair deal.

It was never really a question of if, but when the Seattle Seahawks would give D.K. Metcalf a lucrative contract extension. There were trade rumors this offseason, as is the case when practically any elite player is entering the final year of his current contract. The scenario of No. 14 being dealt to another team or eventually leaving in free agency never seemed remotely like a real possibility, though.

Today Seattle made it official, extending their star wideout to the tune of a three-year contract worth a total of $72 million. Metcalf makes out with $58.2 million guaranteed, including a $30 million signing bonus – a new high for his position.

Reports about Metcalf’s new deal estimated that he’d be making somewhere in the range of $25 million per year. In the end, that was pretty close. Metcalf’s annual average is just short of that at $24 million – tying Stefon Diggs for the sixth-best among wide receivers.

Given his age and ability, there’s a real chance that this contract will look like a bargain for the Seahawks in a couple years’ time. For now, both sides got a fair deal. Metcalf is appropriately paid like the top-10 talent he is at his position, while his team didn’t overreach into the rare air of deals for Davante Adams and Tyreek Hill, who’s making a league-high (among wide receivers) $30 million per year with the Dolphins.

Metcalf probably could have earned more if he’d refused the offer and waited to sign after this coming season. However, the length of the deal gives him another chance for a big pay-day while he’s still relatively young. In three years, Metcalf will only be 27 years old. Hopefully by then the Seahawks will have found another Pro-Bowl-caliber franchise quarterback to pair him with so all parties can truly cash in on his prodigious talent.

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Russell Wilson congratulates D.K. Metcalf on new deal: ‘You deserve it all, bro’

Wilson just went on Twitter to congratulate his former teammate on his big payday.

After Russell Wilson was traded to the Broncos, D.K. Metcalf became the best player on the Seahawks’ roster, hands down. Today, he got paid like it.

Metcalf is signing a three-year contract extension with Seattle worth a reported $72 million total, incuding over $58 million in guaranteed money. It makes him one of the highest-paid players in the game at his position and sets him up to cash in again just a few years down the line while he’s still in his prime.

Wilson just went on Twitter to congratulate his former teammate on his big payday, saying he deserves it all.

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Seahawks signing WR D.K. Metcalf to 3-year, $72 million contract extension

Metcalf’s new contract includes $58.2 million in guarantees.

The Seahawks are signing wide receiver D.K. Metcalf to a three-year deal worth $72 million, according to a report by Adam Schefter. Jordan Schultz was the first to report the news. Metcalf’s new contract includes $58.2 million in guarantees and a $30 million signing bonus.

Metcalf is entering his fourth season in the NFL. In 49 career games he has totaled 216 catches, 3,170 yards and 29 touchdowns.

In terms of annual money, Metcalf’s new deal makes him one of the highest-paid players at his position. His averge of $24 million per year ties him with Stefon Diggs of the Bills for the sixth-highest mark among wide receivers.

Metcalf had been “holding in” at training camp over the last two days, a popular new move among players looking for a new contract without getting fined for missing practice. He had also skipped mandatory minicamp earlier this offseason for the same reason after attending voluntary OTAs.

One of the finest athletes in the sport, Metcalf was recently ranked the 10th best receiver in the league by ESPN.

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Pete Carroll optimistic deal will get done with Seahawks WR DK Metcalf

Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll remains optimistic that a new deal will get done with wide receiver DK Metcalf, hopefully before camp.

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Seattle Seahawks wide receiver DK Metcalf skipped out on the team’s mandatory minicamp, most likely holding out for a contract extension that still hasn’t materialized entering the summer break.

Coach Pete Carroll told reporters at the close of minicamp that he was still optimistic a deal would get done.

“We’ve been through this for years, and we know it’s a challenging time,” Carroll explained. “We’ve had so many high-profile guys that have gone through this process and how’s that worked out for us? We’ve figured it out in time. Johnny (Schneider) is on it and he’s as experienced as you can get at handling this stuff.”

With wide receivers around the league commanding more and more cash with each signing, there is no denying Metcalf is in for a huge payday. Seattle fans are just hoping it’s with the Seahawks.

“You got to go through it, so that’s just what it is, and our guys have to too” Carroll continued. “We have to go through it again and start all over fresh, knowing that it’s brand new for us and a kid like DK and he’s a remarkable person. He’s a wonderful player, he has so much to offer the world, and I just don’t want him to miss this opportunity, where we can’t figure it out. So, we’ll do everything that we can.”

The Seahawks and Metcalf have just a little over a month to sort things out if they plan to do so before the start of training camp at the end of July.

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Seahawks passing game coordinator Sanjay Lal explains D.K. Metcalf’s route brilliance

Seahawks passing game coordinator Sanjay Lal explained what sets D.K. Metcalf apart as a receiver.

The Seattle Seahawks are undergoing all kinds of changes in their passing game, starting with the Russell Wilson trade to Denver that leaves a quarterback competition between Drew Lock and Geno Smith. Not all that compelling, but at least whoever does start for Seattle at the game’s most important position will have the benefit of two exemplary receivers — the serially underrated Tyler Lockett, and size/speed matchup nightmare D.K. Metcalf.

During his Tuesday minicamp media availability, Seahawks passing game coordinator and wide receivers coach Sanjay Lal gave some interesting examples of what makes Metcalf specifically great.

“I’ve told people he’s the best receiver I’ve ever been around that took the techniques from practice into the game,” Lal said. “If we ran a stutter-hinge versus Patrick Peterson, how it looked and walked through, how it looked in an individual period, how it looked in team is exactly how it looked against Arizona. You can look at the tape. I’ve actually made cut-ups of, here’s how he did it here, and here’s how it looked in the game.”

Here’s how it looked when the Seahawks faced the Vikings in Week 3 of the 2021 season. The stutter-hinge is a route where Metcalf pushes a vertical look, gives the cornerback a double move, and then, looks to come back at the end of the route to present a favorable picture to the quarterback.

The next example Lal brought up was a 19-yard reception against the Patriots in Week 2 of the 2020 season, when Metcalf was facing Stephon Gilmore at a time when Gilmore was arguably the NFL’s best cornerback.

Lal didn’t mention this vicious whip route that left Peterson, a future Hall of Famer, out of the picture, but it’s worth reviewing.

The next route Lal mentioned was against cornerback Stephon Gilmore, then of the Patriots, in Week 2 of the 2020 season.

“The Stephon Gilmore ‘V’ route, [the] pylon route that he caught, we’ve got walkthrough reps of him running it exactly like that. He had to get a yard inside the hash. He had to get his eyes back for a count, otherwise Stephon would not undercut him. It’s very rare for a receiver under duress, under the lights to go do that in a game and he did it perfectly.

You watch the clip, as soon as he touches the hash, his eyes come back inside, Steph goes underneath, and he puts his foot in the ground and goes over the top. Had it been one yard off, that play wouldn’t have worked. Even with all that precision, it was still a bang, bang play downfield. So he’s the best I’ve seen at that.”

The myth with Metcalf has always been that he’s a rudimentary route-runner — a canard that was easy to blow off from his first days in the NFL.

Metcalf is now looking for a second contract that will pay him in line with his abilities. If the Seahawks are to make the most of an uncertain quarterback situation, getting something done with Metcalf — who’s in the final year of his rookie deal — would seem to be Job One.

40 wide receivers who have a higher cap hit than D.K. Metcalf in 2022

To give you an idea of just how underpaid Metcalf is, here are 40 wide receivers around the league who will cost their teams more in 2022.

Scottie Pippen was the most underpaid member of the legendary 90s Bulls teams led by Michael Jordan that won six world championships. Even though he was the “glue guy” and a critical part of their success, his contract was more appropriate for a bench warmer rather than an all-time great.

Seahawks wide receiver D.K. Metcalf isn’t quite as underpaid and unappreciated as Pippen was. Nevertheless, he is one of the NFL’s most underpaid players at an important position. Metcalf skipped mandatory minicamp this week in an unexcused absence as he heads into the final year of his contract. His cap hit is just $4,324,827 this year. To give you an idea of just how underpaid Metcalf is, here are 40 wide receivers around the league who will cost their teams more in 2022.

It’s past time for the Seahawks to show D.K. Metcalf the money

Carroll and Schneider need to show a greater sense of urgency and pay the most important player on their team what he deserves.

“I am a role model, Jerry! I have a family to support! Hear me? I want to stay in Arizona. I want my new contract.”

So said Cuba Gooding Jr.’s underrated and undersized wide receiver Rod Tidwell in his famous show-me-the-money scene in 1996’s Jerry Maguire as he pushed his agent for a new contract from the Arizona Cardinals. One gets the impression that IRL Seattle Seahawks wideout D.K. Metcalf is feeling much the same way right about now.

Despite having reported for every single day of voluntary OTAs, Metcalf is skipping mandatory minicamp in what’s been reported to be an unexcused absence. While we haven’t heard from coach Pete Carroll yet on the subject, it’s not difficult to imagine that this is related to Metcalf’s contract situation.

Heading into the 2022 season, Metcalf is in the final year of his rookie deal, which will pay him a pitiful base salary of $3,986,000. That number sounds like a lot for your average sports blogger, but for an elite 24-year old talent at wide receiver it makes Metcalf one of the most underpaid athletes in all of professional sports.

Yesterday, the Los Angeles Rams made Cooper Kupp the latest star receiver to get a lucrative contract extension this offseason, worth a reported $80 million over three years with $75 million guaranteed.

Here’s the complete list of NFL receivers who have gotten paid so far:

One name you won’t find on that list is Metcalf, which is yet another eyesore for a front office that now has a fully-justified reputation for stiffing their best players – hammered home by their inexcusable treatment of Seattle’s sweetheart Bobby Wagner.

Metcalf’s next contract is likely going to be somewhere in the range between $26 and $30 million per year and every time another receiver gets a pay-day his price-tag is going to go up.

There’s no excuse for this to have dragged out as long as it has. Carroll and general manager John Schneider need to show a greater sense of urgency and pay the most important player on their team what he deserves.

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D.K. Metcalf market value projection for his next contract

If you think that will stop the incessant trade rumors you’re likely in for a long offseason.

It says a lot about how much other NFL teams want D.K. Metcalf that the trade speculation is so intense. Yesterday, we learned that the Seahawks won’t even listen to offers for their star 24-year old wide receiver – cutting off any talks immediately. If you think that will stop the incessant trade rumors you’re likely in for a long offseason.

This morning, ESPN has a fresh round of potential trade scenarios – seven, in fact. We’ll wait for the cliffnotes on those because it would be absolutely bananas and nuts for Seattle to deal Metcalf no matter what they might get in return.

An athlete like Metcalf will always bring on intense trade talks when he’s entering the final year of his contract, though – so fans who are sick of reading about it should probably get comfortable. Until Seattle actually signs him to an extension the trade content mill isn’t going to stop.

So, what will it actually cost to keep him?

According to Spotrac, Metcalf’s market value is $24.2 million per season and they’re projecting he’ll sign a four-year deal, totaling $97,185,816.

That would fall well short of the current top earners at Metcalf’s position but would put him at No. 4 – for now. Tyreek Hill’s new deal with the Dolphins reset the receiver market at $30 million per year, followed by Davante Adams’ contract with the Raiders at $28 million a season and DeAndre Hopkins at a $27.25 million per-season average with the Cardinals.

Our best guess is that the $24.2 million projection is a little lower than what Metcalf will actually get when he signs.

We’ll get a better idea of how exactly much he will earn with each new receiver extension. Yeterday, Stefon Diggs signed a new deal with the Bills worth $104 million over four years. That puts him pretty close to the Spotrac projection for Metcalf but remember Diggs is four years older and has played 103 games in the NFL, more than double D.K.’s 49.

Other receivers to watch that will be closer to Metcalf’s price-range include Deebo Samuel of the 49ers and A.J. Brown of the Titans, both from the same 2019 draft class.

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