Seahawks could renegotiate with Lynch without losing face

The Hawks FO has tried to pay its players fairly, and has renegotiated contracts when it wasn't financially advantageous. This has strengthened the cohesion and loyalty of the players, who know that when you survive the cauldron of competition in Seattle, you will be paid accordingly. Marshawn is saying that he wants to feel some appreciation. I think he'll get it, and everyone will be ok. John will probably clear some cap room in the process.

Isn't he the 5th highest paid RB in the league? Seems like the Hawks FO has shown great appreciation already.

I don't see it happening either... particularly not at the expense of extending KJ, who I understand is the next guy to be paid.

And all indications are Marshawn will be a cap victim next off-season in order to extend Russell. Best guess is that has been Pete's and John's plan for some time.

Cant they just give him 1/2 to 1 million more this year using this years cap space? It doesn't affect next year when they cut him and there is still room in this year?

Now I am not advocating it just asking?

rainger":1ov17b8v said:

Cant they just give him 1/2 to 1 million more this year using this years cap space? It doesn't affect next year when they cut him and there is still room in this year?

Now I am not advocating it just asking?

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Yes, they could if he re-negotiated his contract but the Hawks shouldn't do it because of the precedent that it would set in all future dealings with its players under contract with two years remaining.

Lynch signed his current contract just two years ago and got a nice $6M signing bonus... and he has two years left to go.

I'll be surprised if the FO gives in.

onanygivensunday":1l59h0d5 said:

rainger":1l59h0d5 said:

Cant they just give him 1/2 to 1 million more this year using this years cap space? It doesn't affect next year when they cut him and there is still room in this year?

Now I am not advocating it just asking?

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Yes, they could if he re-negotiated his contract but the Hawks shouldn't do it because of the precedent that it would set in all future dealings with its players under contract with two years remaining.

Lynch signed his current contract just two years ago and got a nice $6M signing bonus... and he has two years left to go.

I'll be surprised if the FO gives in.

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They renegotiated with Clem though generally i do agree with you.

Basis4day":2drcnrj6 said:

onanygivensunday":2drcnrj6 said:

rainger":2drcnrj6 said:

Cant they just give him 1/2 to 1 million more this year using this years cap space? It doesn't affect next year when they cut him and there is still room in this year?

Now I am not advocating it just asking?

Click to expand...

Yes, they could if he re-negotiated his contract but the Hawks shouldn't do it because of the precedent that it would set in all future dealings with its players under contract with two years remaining.

Lynch signed his current contract just two years ago and got a nice $6M signing bonus... and he has two years left to go.

I'll be surprised if the FO gives in.

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They renegotiated with Clem though generally i do agree with you.

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They did... good point but Clem had the Hawks over the barrel because they had nobody to step into Clem's shoes like they have in Lynch's case (Turbin and Michael).

If Pete and John think there's a likelihood that Lynch is in the plans for 2015, they have no reason not to rework his deal now. The only point of a reworked deal from Lynch's perspective would be to put bonus money in his pocket, and give him some security about 2015 (There is no security now as everyone knows he won't be playing under the current contract). That means that the bonus money will be prorated and divided over the life of the contract, and it makes sense to get that prorated bonus cap hit off the books asap, rather than paying it into the 16/17 seasons when it's highly unlikely lynch will be on the team.

Has 0 to do with "saving face" though. The last thing the FO of this team is worried about is the way the media perceives them. The largest impact it would have is on other players looking for a new deal but you can't hesitate to do what you need to do because of that.

Just say "not now, but in good time".

rainger":19zuubyp said:

Cant they just give him 1/2 to 1 million more this year using this years cap space? It doesn't affect next year when they cut him and there is still room in this year?

Now I am not advocating it just asking?

Click to expand...

Remember, any cap space you don't use rolls over to the next year. So if we give him an extra million out of this year's cap space, that's a million less we have next year to use for Russell and whoever else.

Also, for those comparing Marshawn wanting more money to Clem, Marshawn is paid top 5 for his position while Clem was pretty dang underpaid for a top DE. He was absolutely worth way more and got it. Not to mention, we had just spent our 1st round pick on a guy that we proclaimed was going to play LEO, which happened to be Clem's spot. Just different circumstances.

Yes, giving him more now would affect rollover, but losing $1-1.5M on next year's cap could be worth getting Marshawn's 2015 restructure out of the way. If he's in the plans for 2015 anyway, then it makes sense to work out a sensible deal that ensures he's here that season for less than $9M.

Granted, it does set sort of a poor precedent to redo his deal this early, but Marshawn's already been the exception to every rule on this team anyway. If another player comes along that literally puts his career on the line every single time he touches the ball, then he might receive similar treatment. Otherwise, it's apples and oranges.

NinjaHawk":2k2utsij said:

rainger":2k2utsij said:

Cant they just give him 1/2 to 1 million more this year using this years cap space? It doesn't affect next year when they cut him and there is still room in this year?

Now I am not advocating it just asking?

Click to expand...

Remember, any cap space you don't use rolls over to the next year. So if we give him an extra million out of this year's cap space, that's a million less we have next year to use for Russell and whoever else.

Also, for those comparing Marshawn wanting more money to Clem, Marshawn is paid top 5 for his position while Clem was pretty dang underpaid for a top DE. He was absolutely worth way more and got it. Not to mention, we had just spent our 1st round pick on a guy that we proclaimed was going to play LEO, which happened to be Clem's spot. Just different circumstances.

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It's worse than that. If they change the contract for this year, they end up with $3 million in cap space used this year -- even though Marshawn wouldn't see any of it -- because there's currently $3 million in cap being used by his existing contract.

So, let's assume he wants at least as much as this year... maybe a million extra you say?

The net effect would be the $3 million in dead cap, plus paying the $3 million on the new contract, plus the extra $1 million i.e. it would cost the Seahawks $7 million against this years cap to give him $1 million extra this year.

That's a lot of cap!

I doubt PC/JS know if Marshawn is in the plans for 2015 yet because they have to see him play in 2014 first. His productivity could pull a Shawn Alaxander this year, or he could have a career year for all we know.

Rush for 1,800 yards. Everything will take care of itself.

BocciHawk":16h26tw5 said:

It's worse than that. If they change the contract for this year, they end up with $3 million in cap space used this year -- even though Marshawn wouldn't see any of it -- because there's currently $3 million in cap being used by his existing contract.

So, let's assume he wants at least as much as this year... maybe a million extra you say?

The net effect would be the $3 million in dead cap, plus paying the $3 million on the new contract, plus the extra $1 million i.e. it would cost the Seahawks $7 million against this years cap to give him $1 million extra this year.

That's a lot of cap!

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I don't think the dead money hit would factor in just for re-negotiating the terms. His pro-rated bonus is already being factored into his cap hit. Giving him a raise this year would just increase that number by the value of his raise.

The danger in renegotiating with a player who has two years left on his contract, even a player of Lynch's caliber and importance is it sets a precedent.

If we give Lynch another 1-2M this year, or whatever it is he wants, then the next morning JS is going to get a call from Avril's agent saying "hey, my client played his ass off and performed just as well as Lynch did, so where's our extra money?" On and on down the line.

DavidSeven":phm6c730 said:

Granted, it does set sort of a poor precedent to redo his deal this early, but Marshawn's already been the exception to every rule on this team anyway. If another player comes along that literally puts his career on the line every single time he touches the ball, then he might receive similar treatment. Otherwise, it's apples and oranges.

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Totally agree. And as for other players wanting the same treatment, I can't imagine any player currently on the roster wanting to compare his situation to that of the Beast. My guess is they are all grateful for what he's done here, and would be happy to see him rewarded, without giving thought to self-gratification or becoming opportunistic. I know that sounds rather naïve, but even if I'm wrong, JS can just tell that player to go straight to hell.

Seattle has no obligation to renegotiate with Lynch.

He's the heart of our team, but he's already paid top 5 and this was probably going to be
his last year with us anyway. Lynch showing up to mini camp tells me he's over it

HawkWow":16cynrnr said:

I can't imagine any player currently on the roster wanting to compare his situation to that of the Beast.l.

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I just named one, Cliff Avril. Same situation, one more year left on his contract, had a fantastic year and is considered underpaid by his position.

For that matter what Kam? He just saw two of his LOB teammates break the bank making 2-3M more per year than he is. If Lynch gets to renegotiate what's stopping Kam's agent from calling JS and wanting more money to be equal to Sherman and Thomas?

It's a precedent that shouldn't be started.

Sgt. Largent":2z06feuh said:

HawkWow":2z06feuh said:

I can't imagine any player currently on the roster wanting to compare his situation to that of the Beast.l.

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I just named one, Cliff Avril. Same situation, one more year left on his contract, had a fantastic year and is considered underpaid by his position.

For that matter what Kam? He just saw two of his LOB teammates break the bank making 2-3M more per year than he is. If Lynch gets to renegotiate what's stopping Kam's agent from calling JS and wanting more money to be equal to Sherman and Thomas?

It's a precedent that shouldn't be started.

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You know you are comparing apples and oranges.

Lynch is different. He isnt practicing and spends more time home than any other player and theres nothing wrong with it.