Tag: seahawks salary cap

6 moves that could save the Seahawks $33 million more in 2023

With a few moves here and there Seattle could save up to over $33 million more.

The Seattle Seahawks currently have a little over $31 million in salary cap space for the 2023 season. That’s not a bad number and it ranks seventh-most in the NFL going into the offseason. However, a large portion of that money is already spoken for – with $10 million allotted for this year’s draft class and a sizable extension for quarterback Geno Smith expected soon.

While the salary cap is not the illusion some claim (ask the Saints), it’s definitely malleable to the will of the organization. With a few moves here and there Seattle could save up to over $33 million more. Here’s how.

NFL sets salary cap for the 2023 season: What it means for Seahawks

The NFL informed teams today that the salary cap for the 2023 season will be set at $224.8 million.

The NFL informed teams today that the salary cap for the 2023 season will be set at $224.8 million. That’s up $16.6 million from this year.

For the Seahawks, that means they are working with just over $31 million in cap space, which is the seventh-most in the league.

However, they will need around $10 million of that space to sign their 2023 rookie class – and another large chunk will go towards re-signing their own pending free agents.

At the top of that list is veteran quarterback Geno Smith, who’s coming off the first Pro Bowl season of his career. Spotrac is projecting that his market value is $39.3 million per year. If Seattle can’t work out a deal with Smith they may use the franchise tag in order to keep him – but that’s projected to be over $32 million this year for quarterbacks. A longer deal (two or three years) with a back-loaded structure would be ideal.

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How much cap space do the Seahawks have after DK Metcalf deal?

That’s still plenty of money to add another impact player or two before the season begins.

The Seahawks took care of their biggest item of off-field business today, officially signing DK Metcalf to his three-year contract extension. The new deal pays Metcalf a total of $72 million over the next few years. As far as the 2022 season goes, Metcalf’s cap hit will about double – rising from $4.3 million to $8.8 million this year.

According to figures available at Over the Cap, that leaves Seattle with a little over $13 million in space remaining for the season.

That’s still plenty of money to add another impact player or two before the season begins.

The Seahawks’ greatest personnel need right now is on the edge, where they cut several key contributors this offseason, including Carlos Dunlap – who signed with the Chiefs yesterday – as well as Rasheem Green (now with the Texans), Kerry Hyder Jr. (who returned to the 49ers) and Benson Mayowa (still a free agent).

On offense, the team could use some more experience along the offensive line – assuming they are satisfied with Drew Lock and Geno Smith at QB.

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Seahawks: Where do they rank in spending at each position?

Let’s take a look at where they rank in spending at each position compared to the rest of the NFL.

The Seattle Seahawks made some major changes to their roster this offseason, jettisoning a couple of franchise cornerstones and bringing in several new faces via free agency, the draft and one blockbuster trade.

To get a better idea of how this 2022 team is constructed, let’s take a look at where they rank in spending at each position compared to the rest of the NFL. All salary numbers are from Spotrac.

Seahawks have fourth-most dead money in the NFL going into 2022

Seattle now has over $44 million in dead money this year, ranking fourth-most in the NFL.

The Seahawks were in good shape when it comes to dead money for the 2022 season a while back. Getting rid of Russell Wilson and Bobby Wagner changed all that, though.

Seattle now has over $44 million in dead money this year, ranking fourth-most in the NFL. Here’s how it adds up.

Seahawks only get minimal salary cap relief in Russell Wilson trade

Meanwhile, Seattle’s cap space will increase, but only by about $775,000.

Good news: the Seattle Seahawks are getting a boatload of draft picks and some quality starting contributors from the Denver Broncos, including tight end Noah Fant and defensive tackle Shelby Harris. Bad news: they’re also taking a giant step back at the quarterback position with Drew Lock and Geno Smith now their best candidates to start Week 1 in 2022 and they aren’t getting much extra salary cap space for their trouble.

According to an estimate by Over the Cap, Denver’s salary cap space will be set back around $16.8 million after taking on Russell Wilson’s contract. Meanwhile, Seattle’s cap space will increase, but only by about $775,000.

Fortunately, the Seahawks were already in pretty good shape when it comes to cap space. If they cut middle linebacker Bobby Wagner – a move that makes a lot more sense now that Wilson is gone and a rebuild is underway – they could create even more room.

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Seahawks among top-10 NFL teams in projected 2022 salary cap room

Seahawks among top-10 NFL teams in projected 2022 salary cap room

Next year’s NFL salary cap will be set at the expected $208,200,000. That’s a big jump from this year’s figure of $182,500,000 and a lot of teams have structured deals to take advantage of this rise in the cap compared to the more heavily COVID-19-impacted years.

The Seattle Seahawks are one of them. According to the latest projections at Over the Cap, they’re among the top 10 teams in terms of projected salary cap room for next year.