Kam Chancellor is ending his holdout and returning to the team, 710 ESPN Seattle reported, but for some reason, the safety said he’s forgiving the Seattle Seahawks.
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Chancellor texted Stephen A. Smith and shared the thinking behind the decision. Chancellor said:
“Ima go help my teammates that are understanding of my position and the ones who aren’t. God forgives all, why can’t i? Time to help us get back to the big dance . I can address business after the season. Me and Marshawn started a mission 2 years ago. I can’t let my Dawg down….Real talk.”
But what did the franchise do wrong?
Chancellor—no matter if he outperformed his pay grade—signed a contract. It’s his responsibility to honor that deal, and it’s not unreasonable for Chancellor—who has three years left on his agreement, per Spotrac—to have his agent negotiate with the team during the season.
Before the 2015 regular season started, Grantland’s Andrew Sharp wrote:
“Chancellor is right that he deserves more guarantees, and the Seahawks can’t afford to renegotiate every deal — and now everybody’s losing.”
The Seahawks have no precedent for re-working agreements until the year of expiration, and ceding leverage to the rest of their star-studded roster would be costly—very, very costly.
No side really did anything “wrong,” but Seattle certainly doesn’t have anything to apologize for.