After a negotiation that got a little contentious (or a lot), Seahawks safety Jamal Adams took the final offer from the team, with some “cosmetics” attached. We’ve obtained the full breakdown of the deal from a source with knowledge of the terms.
Here it is.
1. Signing bonus: $20 million.
2. 2021 base salary: $1 million, fully guaranteed.
3. 2022 option bonus: $12.44 million option bonus, guaranteed for injury at signing and fully guaranteed on fifth day of the waiver period after Super Bowl LVI.
4. 2022 base salary: $2 million, guaranteed for injury at signing and fully guaranteed on fifth day of the waiver period after Super Bowl LVI.
5. 2023 base salary: $11 million, $2.56 million of which is guaranteed for injury at signing and fully guaranteed on the fifth day of the waiver period after Super Bowl LVII.
6. 2024 base salary: $16.5 million.
7. 2025 base salary: $17.5 million.
It’s a four-year, $70 million extension, which averages $17.5 million annually. Given the money he was already due to make in 2021, it’s a five-year, $80.44 million deal (based on the $9.86 million fifth-year salary and the extra game check of $580,000). That’s an average of $16 million per year from signing.
The deal also includes up to $2.75 million in available incentives and escalators, including $250,000 in available incentives for 2022 through 2025 if he gets three interceptions and five sacks. (That becomes another $1 million, maximum.) Another $1.75 million is available in 2024 and 2025 escalators, with $250,000 tied to each year that he makes the Pro Bowl and the team qualifies for the conference championship. (That becomes up to $750,000 in 2024 and up to $1 million in 2025.)
The deal includes $21 million fully guaranteed at signing. By the fifth day after the next Super Bowl, $35.44 million will be fully guaranteed. By the fifth day after Super Bowl LVII, $38 million will be fully guaranteed. That’s 47.2 percent of the total contract value.
The cash flow for the base deal goes like this: $21 million this year, $14.44 million in 2022, $11 million in 2023, $16.5 million in 2024, and $17.5 million in 2025.
It makes him the highest paid safety in the NFL; however, the full guarantee at signing lands at No. 6 all time. That said, he’ll get at least $35.44 million unless the Seahawks cut him after paying him $21 million for one more season of football.