Sam Darnold Super Bowl Win May Change Things with the Seahawks

All year we hear that Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold could not win the big game. Now that he's won the biggest game there is, Darnold's persistent critics will have to come up with a new excuse not to embrace him as one of the NFL's best quarterbacks - one who's just entering his prime.

Speaking of Darnold's career arc, we got big news about his future with the Seahawks this afternoon, courtesy of CBS Sports insider Jonathan Jones. His sources say that if they won the Super Bowl, Seattle would consider giving Darnold a contract extension this coming offseason.

With a Seahawks victory tonight, Sam Darnold will trigger a $2.5 million playoff incentive. League sources believe Darnold could be in line for an extension this offseason with a win, just one year after signing his 3-year, $100.5M contract with Seattle.
— Jonathan Jones (@jjones9) February 8, 2026

Well, he's won the Super Bowl - so if this report isn't just the kind Super Bowl game day then Darnold and the front office will have some interesting conversations in the coming weeks.

For now, it's a little surprising to think that general manager John Schneider would depart from his long-standing rule of never negotiating a new deal with a player when there's two years left on his current contract.

Then again, the Seahawks have never won a Super Bowl with a quarterback on the first year of a mid-market deal along with the best defense on the planet.

A glance at Darnold's contract shows that there might be a benefit to negotiating now. According to Over the Cap, extending Darnold this offseason could save them $23,360,000 in cap space for the 2026 season - where they're already going to have over $70 million to work with.

Going into an offseason with nearly $100 million to work with immediately after winning the Super Bowl in dominant fashion is something we just haven't seen in the modern NFL.

If the Seahawks play their cards right these next few months, we may witness the birth of a new dynasty. Securing Sam Darnold for the (really) long haul and saving resources to continue building up this absolute monster of a roster sounds like a good place to start.

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