In a move to free up some much-needed salary cap space, the Seattle Seahawks restructured the contract of starting quarterback Geno Smith.
While the Seahawks finished with the same record last season as they did two years ago, they were unable to make the NFL playoffs this time around. It cost legendary head coach Pete Carroll his job and sent a clear message, while 9-8 was good during a surprise season in 2022, it wasn’t enough in 2023 and the team needs to get better.
However, heading into the offseason the organization was well over the salary cap for next season and is going to need to do a whole bunch of cap massaging to free up some money to improve the roster this offseason. Well, on Thursday they took their first step towards doing just that.
Also Read: NFL Mock Draft – Who will the Seattle Seahawks select in Round 1
Seattle Seahawks free up almost $5 million in cap space
On Thursday, ESPN cap-ologist Field Yates spilled some interesting tea about a notable agreement the Seattle Seahawks and Geno Smith came to. “The Seahawks have restructured the contract of QB Geno Smith, converting his $9.6M roster bonus into a signing bonus and creating $4.8M in 2024 cap space, per source.”
There are three key takeaways from the news. First, while $4.8 million isn’t a huge number it is a start and gets them under the cap while they plot out more financial decisions to make. Second, it does mean they have an added $4.8 million cap hit for 2025. But that is something to worry about then.
Lastly, the move is another clear sign that there is no doubt about Smith’s place on the roster and he will be the unquestioned starting QB for at least 2024 and likely for 2025 since his annual average of $25 million is still a bargain in today’s market. He will now make a little under $13 million this season.