The Seattle Seahawks gave up a boatload of draft capital to obtain star safety Jamal Adams but aren't in a hurry to shell out big scratch to keep him long-term.
NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reported Monday that before the Seahawks finalized their trade for Adams, the sides agreed he'd play 2020 on his existing rookie contract, per a source informed of the talks.
Adams is set to make about $3.59 million in 2020 and $9.86 million in 2021.
Seattle shelled out two first-round picks, a 2021 third-round pick and safety Bradley McDougald in exchange for Adams and a 2022 fourth-rounder.
The agreement is similar to the deal Seattle made with Jadeveon Clowney last year before that trade with Houston, albeit they gave up much less compensation for a player on the franchise tag.
Adams wanted a new deal in New York, which precipitated his trade request and subsequent flaming of the team brass late last week. While the contract was the biggest issue in New York, it'd been previously reported that it wasn't a requirement in getting him traded away from the Jets to a contender.
Moving to Seattle calms Adams' contract desires -- for the moment.
Agreeing to play on his current rookie deal doesn't stop the Seahawks from extending him beyond then without reworking those final two years. Pelissero's report essentially confirms that there won't be an urgent timetable for getting a long-term deal done with the safety.
Eventually, however, Adams will want to be paid top-of-the-market money.
Given what Seattle gave up to get him, they'll look to keep the play-making safety around longer than two years. Given the uncertainty with the salary cap in the following couple of years, coming to an understanding with Adams about playing under the final two years of his deal before making the trade was likely important for the Seahawks' brass. They now have time to work out a deal as the league gets a better grasp of how the financials will be affected in 2022 and beyond.
