Structure of Jamal Adams' Extension Explained
The long-anticipated extension of All-Pro safety Jamal Adams is signed, sealed and delivered. As of Tuesday afternoon, Adams is the highest-paid safety in NFL history and is set to play in Seattle through the 2025 season.
Now, thanks to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk and Jason Fitzgerald of OverTheCap.com, we have a better understanding of how the deal is structured.
The extension, as it was initially reported, comes in at $70 million with $38 million in guarantees over four years. Let's first go over what this means for this year and next.
Adams was given a $21 million signing bonus, bringing his base salaries in 2021 and 2022 down to $1 million and $2 million, respectively. He also has an option bonus of $12.44 million in 2022, which is guaranteed at signing in the event of future injury and fully guarantees five days after Super Bowl LVI—February 18.
Initially set to count towards $9.86 million of Seattle's cap space this season, Adams now has a cap hit of just $5 million. That boosts the team's available cap in 2021 from roughly $8.1 million to $13 million, giving it more flexibility to potentially add to its current roster via trade or free agency.
Adams will also only account for $9.1 million on the books in 2022, putting the Seahawks' 2022 cap projection at $37 million—the 11th highest mark in the NFL. Starting that year, the former top-10 selection can earn an extra $250,000 per season (up to $1 million between 2022-25) if he records three interceptions and 5.0 sacks.
Once the calendar flips to 2023, the dollar figures on Adams' extension will become way more prominent. As linebacker Bobby Wagner's $20.3 million cap hit comes off the books following the 2022 season, Adams will begin having cap hits of $18.1 million, $23.6 million and $24.6 million over the final three years of his contract.
That, however, shouldn't alarm anyone with the cap set to greatly expand in each of the next 10 years. But if worst comes to worst, the Seahawks have created a few outs for themselves in 2024 and 2025.
Depending on if they cut him in 2024 or 2025, the Seahawks could save up to $34 million if they do it after June 1. Each year would come with $7.1 million in dead money, but would save the team $16.5 million in 2024 and $17.5 million in 2025. They could also opt to cut him in 2023, which would save $11 million for that season and a grand total of $45 million.
In the last two years of the deal, another $1.75 million in escalators can be earned if Adams is selected to the Pro Bowl and Seattle makes the conference championship. That comes in at $750,000 in 2024 and $1 million in 2025.
In all, here's what it breaks down to:
