Andrew Buller-Russ
Usually, in today’s NFL, there are no rookie contract disputes. The days of players holding out for more money are long gone. But apparently, Seattle Seahawks rookie cornerback Devon Witherspoon didn’t get the memo and is officially holding out from training camp.
Nowadays, each NFL Draft pick has a specific ‘slot’ value that starts high at $37.9 million for the No. 1 overall pick and slowly decreases with each selection until we reach Mr. Irrelevant, who has signed a $3.9 million contract.
This is the exact reason why you’ll commonly hear on Day 3 of the NFL Draft why it’s actually better for some players to go undrafted than be a seventh-round pick with a pre-determined salary. While there are more complicated variables, such as actually making the roster, this is, in essence, the mindset in the NFL today.
In other words, there is very little to actually negotiate for each incoming rookie. Yet, there are still a few points that agencies battle over. More on that in a bit.
Witherspoon is the lone remaining unsigned draft pick out of 259 selections from the 2023 class. He’s slotted for a four-year, fully-guaranteed $31.8 million deal, which includes a team option for a fifth year, as every first-round pick gets. But he’ll have to earn that fifth and final year over time.
None of that is negotiable.
What is negotiable for Witherspoon and the Seahawks is his signing bonus. Technically due an amount of $20.7 million, Witherspoon is reportedly miffed over the “schedule of the bonus payout,” according to Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times.
Witherspoon was the fifth pick back in April. Each of the quarterbacks selected ahead of him received their entire bonus right away. Second overall pick Will Anderson Jr, and the only defender selected ahead of Witherspoon, received 85% of his bonus right away.
This seems to be the topic of discussion. As Condotta points out, the Seahawks usually prefer spreading out the bonus payout over time, which apparently was a key proponent during Russell Wilson’s contract discussions too.
Last year’s first-round pick, offensive tackle Charles Cross, selected ninth overall, received roughly half of his bonus payout upon signing. It’s possible the team is targeting a similar approach with Witherspoon, but that is not known.
Yet, since the first-round pick is not technically under contract, he is not subject to any fines for missing practices. That doesn’t mean both he and the team don’t want him on the field, gaining valuable reps as soon as possible. We’ll see how long this one gets drawn out, but we can guess everyone wishes the contract had been taken care of months ago already.
Related: Top 2023 NFL Rookie of the Year candidates: Bryce Young, Will Anderson lead the charge
