Advertisement

Michael Bennett's contract complaints could signal trouble for Seahawks

It’s still in the early stages but there might be some contract trouble brewing in Seattle.

Seahawks defensive end Michael Bennett is unhappy with his current deal. Bennett made that clear in a recent interview with the Huffington Post. He described his reaction to seeing other players get new contracts:

“You sit there and you’re like, ‘Damn, really?’ I’m just to the point where it’s kind of like, if you don’t think I’m valuable, then just get rid of me.”

Michael Bennett is seeking a pay raise from the Seattle Seahawks. (AP)
Michael Bennett is seeking a pay raise from the Seattle Seahawks. (AP)

Bennett said back in May that he had no plans to hold out. “Why wouldn’t I be at training camp?” he said on ESPN Radio 710 in Seattle. “Of course I’ll be there. I’ll see you there for sure.”

But, per the Huffington Post article, Bennett still could be absent when Seattle opens training camp on Friday. Bennett didn’t attend the team’s voluntary offseason program, and reportedly considered skipping training camp last offseason, when he was also unhappy with his deal.

ESPN’s Josina Anderson reported Monday that Bennett’s agent, Doug Hendrickson, will meet with Seahawks executives about a new deal.

Bennett told the Huffington Post that he is “definitely one of the top five defensive ends” in the league, and said he wanted “to be fairly compensated.” Anderson also reported more details:

That likely means Bennett is looking for a deal that pays him upward of $10 million per year at the least. The league’s top five 4-3 defensive ends currently make an average of $12.4 million per year. The top five 3-4 ends make an average of $15.2 million.

Bennett is underpaid. Not many, if any, will dispute that. He’s scheduled to make $7 million in 2016 and $9.5 million in 2017. He has outperformed his current four-year, $28.5 million deal.

Bennett is also 30, however, and has two years left on that deal. In the past, general manager John Schneider and Seahawks brass have refused to hand new deals to players who have two or more years remaining on their current ones. It seems unlikely they’d make an exception for a player who’ll be 32 by the time his current contract expires.

Kam Chancellor tested the team’s resilience in this regard last summer. The hard-hitting safety never reported for training camp in an effort to tempt the organization to offer him a new deal. The Seahawks never budged. Chancellor’s holdout extended into the season, but he re-joined the team after Week 2 and played out the season on his current five-year, $29 million deal. Chancellor’s deal, like Bennett’s, runs through 2017.

There could be more to the Bennett negotiations than the current numbers on the table. Here’s some more info from former NFL quarterback Brock Huard, who is a radio host in Seattle:

Bennett is one of the most invaluable members of the Seahawks defense as it is currently constructed. If he held out, it would be a major blow to Seattle. And it’d be tough to blame Bennett for doing so. At 30, this might end up being his last opportunity at a big contract.

The Seahawks likely have most of the leverage here. They have Bennett at a tremendous value for two more years, and know that he would forfeit a significant amount of money if he were to go the route of an extended holdout. Even if Bennett deserves a raise, he might not get it.