Kam Chancellor Contract: Latest News and Rumors on Negotiations with Seahawks

Mike ChiariJul 29, 2015

The Seattle Seahawks entered the 2015 season looking to avenge their Super Bowl loss, but they kicked off the season without Pro Bowl safety Kam Chancellor, who held out in hopes of landing a new contract.

However, despite not having a new contract, Chancellor will return to the Seahawks after an 0-2 start to the season.

"It's all in God's hands," said Chancellor on Sept. 14 when asked by Gee Scott of 710 ESPN in Seattle about his contract, per Brent Stecker of MyNorthwest.com.

Chancellor Ends Holdout, Returns to Seahawks After Missing 2 Games

Wednesday, Sept. 23

Adam Schefter and Stephen A. Smith of ESPN first reported on the end of the safety's holdout.

Schefter shared what Chancellor texted Smith regarding his reasoning for returning to the Seahawks.

"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."

The Seahawks posted a photo of Chancellor walking out to the practice field:

Mike Garafolo of Fox Sports reported the two sides still have to settle on issues regarding the fines accrued from Chancellor's holdout.

On Sept. 16, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reported the two sides have made no progress on negotiations, according to Conor Orr of NFL.com.

"Seahawks [and] Chancellor have negotiated in camp. They offered to pay him $8.1M in 2016, he wants $9M. $900K apart. No change for 2015," reported NFL Network's Rapoport. He added: "Chancellor wants his fines wiped away. Seahawks haven't been willing to wave all of them yet. There is a compromise in there somewhere."

Carroll Comments on Chancellor's Holdout

Wednesday, Sept. 16

"Nothing's changed. He's not here," Carroll said, via SiriusXM NFL Radio.

On Sept. 9, Carroll said he's taking the holdout week to week, per Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times.

Bell also provided Carroll's take on Chancellor replacement Dion Bailey: "When he gets a chance to hit guys, he's all out."

Chancellor's Former Teammate Comments on Holdout

Sunday, Sept. 13

"He does a lot of Pete Carroll's dirty work," said NFL Network analyst Michael Robinson, who formerly played for the Seahawks, on GameDay First, via NFL.com's Conor Orr. Robinson continued:

"
He talks to players who need talking to because again, Pete doesn't accentuate the negative. You talk about his sacrifice on the field, he's probably the one guy in the National Football League that can set your edge from the defensive end position on the outside part of your defense. He's also a guy that drops in the box, he's also a guy that plays middle-of-the-field safety and gets interceptions...he's Bam Bam, he's the face of this team, he's the guy they all go to. So I think he'll be sorely missed.
He's a guy who, he lines (safety) Earl Thomas up, that's what he told me this week. I said Kam, I played with you for four years and I didn't even know that.
"

Robinson previously spoke out about whether Chancellor would be willing to sit out the season in an interview with NFL Total Access on Aug. 21 (via Florio) saying, "From what I know of the situation, yeah. He's dug in. He really feels that they have the ability to pay him."

Anonymous Seahawks Sources Speak on Chancellor's Status; Both Sides 'Dug In'

Tuesday, Sept. 8

ESPN.com's Ed Werder reported a Seahawks player said of Chancellor, "I don't think we're going to have him at all this season. They will just collect his salary until he folds." Werder continued:

"
Should he carry his holdout into the regular season, Chancellor would lose out on $267,647 for every game he misses.
"It's a lose-lose for him," a team source told ESPN.
Another team source told ESPN that the team is moving ahead with or without Chancellor. "From a football perspective, we are proceeding as if he won't be with us."
Said a teammate: "We will win without him, and it will hit him."
"

Bleacher Report's Jason Cole echoed those sentiments, noting the two sides are "dug in" and the team is unwilling to renegotiate the contract:

Multiple Members of Seahawks Organization Comment on Chancellor

Tuesday, Aug. 25

Doug Baldwin was the latest to weigh in on Chancellor's contract talks, saying he talks to his teammate "every day," per Bell, adding the situation is "the price of success."

Seahawks safety Earl Thomas told reporters on Aug. 18 he asked Chancellor to "come home" the last time he talked to him, according to Bell.

General manager John Schneider spoke about Chancellor's status on Aug. 5, reported by SiriusXM NFL Radio, saying there was no animosity between the two sides and adding that the team had been in touch with his camp. Schneider also added that he couldn't say whether Chancellor would report to camp.

On July 31, Bell reported that Carroll respects "Chancellor as a tremendous Seahawks player and team is working to get him in camp as soon as possible."

One reason for his desire to potentially hold out of training camp is the fact that his contract features no guaranteed money beyond the 2015 season, per NFL.com's Brian McIntyre.

Chancellor's teammate, Bruce Irvin, also expressed his support as Chancellor seeks a more lucrative deal:

Carroll, Player's Agent Discuss Negotiations

Thursday, Aug. 20

Carroll said there was no change in Chancellor's status, although they're "keeping communication lines open" (via Curtis Crabtree of Pro Football Talk).

Josina Anderson of ESPN reported on Aug. 6 that Chancellor's holdout could continue into the regular season if the two sides are unable to "reach a middle ground" in contract talks.

"Nothing has changed. He will not report without his contract being addressed this season. The team and I have been in contact, but we haven't been able to agree on any compromise," stated Chancellor's agent, Alvin Keels, to Anderson on Aug. 19.

Cole reported on Aug. 6 that the Seahawks only want to sign Chancellor to a "Band-Aid deal":

However, Chancellor is looking for "better cash flow over the first two years of the remaining three on his current deal," according to Anderson.

It wasn't long ago that Chancellor signed a four-year extension with the Seahawks, but the 27-year-old defensive back is already unhappy with his contract, as Rapoport tweeted on July 29: "In 2013, Seahawks S Kam Chancellor signed a [four-year, $28 million] extension. Set to make [$4.55 million] this year, under contract [through] 2017. He wants more."

At the same time, restructuring the deal so quickly could set a bad precedent from the Seahawks' perspective, and there are still slight questions about Chancellor's health, as he played with an MCL tear in the Super Bowl.

Even so, Chancellor insisted he was feeling great when asked about the injury in May, per Jayson Jenks of the Seattle Times.

"This is my strongest offseason since I've been in the league," he said. "This is my first offseason I really got to train and didn't get any surgeries. I just felt a whole lot stronger at this point."

Chancellor racked up 104 tackles and one interception from the safety position in 14 games last season after registering a career-high 134 tackles the year before, so it is easy to understand why he believes he is worth more than his current contract.

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