Devon Witherspoon, Seahawks Reportedly Agree to 4-Year, $31.9M Rookie Contract

All 259 players taken in the 2023 NFL draft are now under contract after Devon Witherspoon agreed to his rookie deal with the Seattle Seahawks on Friday.

Per NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, Witherspoon's four-year deal is worth $31.86 million fully guaranteed and comes with a $20.2 million signing bonus.

Head coach Pete Carroll wasn't concerned that Witherspoon missed the start of training camp.

"He's not here today," Carroll told reporters Wednesday. "He knows everything he needs to know. I can't imagine he won't be here very soon."

Witherspoon, the last remaining holdout from this year's draft, had been absent from the first two days of Seahawks training camp. Even though there is a slot value for rookie contracts, players and teams do negotiate on various terms of how the money gets paid out.

Per ESPN's Brady Henderson, the issue between Witherspoon and the Seahawks was the payment schedule of his signing bonus:

"The Seahawks, like some other teams, defer portions of bigger bonuses to later dates for cash-flow purposes. Witherspoon wants more of his bonus up front than what the team has offered. The three quarterbacks taken ahead of Witherspoon in April—Bryce Young, C.J. Stroud and Anthony Richardson—reportedly received 100% of their signing bonuses up front. Outside linebacker Will Anderson Jr., the third overall pick, received an 85%/15% split with his bonus with the Houston Texans."

Seattle used the No. 5 pick in this year's draft to select Witherspoon. He was one of two first-round picks for the club, along with Ohio State wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba at No. 20 overall.

Smith-Njigba signed his rookie deal in May.

Despite not being under contract, Witherspoon took part in rookie minicamp in May and full minicamp in June. The Athletic's Michael-Shawn Dugar noted during minicamp last month the Seahawks experimented with the 22-year-old at nickel corner, though he was still going to be the starting left cornerback on early downs.

Witherspoon was a consensus All-American selection last season at the University of Illinois. He recorded 14 pass breakups, three interceptions and 2.5 tackles for loss in 12 games.