Sam Darnold's Contract with Seattle Seahawks: Analyzing the Terms and Implications

The Seattle Seahawks signed quarterback Sam Darnold to a three-year, $100.5 million contract last month. While the deal includes a $15 million March roster bonus in 2026 that some reports indicated became fully guaranteed five days after the deal was signed, the contract actually states that the bonus is guaranteed for injury right now. It will become fully guaranteed if Darnold remains on Seattle's 90-man roster five days after Super Bowl LX. Darnold's deal also includes up to $15 million in incentives over the life of the deal, with $5 million available each season via the same parameters. He would get $500,000 apiece for hitting any of the following benchmarks: 100.0 or better passer rating (minimum 224 attempts), 28 or more touchdown passes, 4,000 or more passing yards and a 67.5% or better completion rate (minimum 224 attempts). There's another $500,000 available each season for the Seahawks finishing in the top 10 in total offense, provided Darnold plays at least 70% of their offensive snaps in the regular season. If Darnold meets that same playing time threshold, he would earn the highest of the following incentives: $500,000 for making the playoffs, $1 million for winning a divisional round game, $1.5 million for winning the conference title game or $2.5 million for winning the Super Bowl. He would have to also play in 70% of the offensive snaps in the given playoff game to qualify for any of the latter three bonuses.