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Jamal Adams, Seahawks Reportedly Agree to Play 2020 on Existing Rookie Contract
July 27, 2020
The Seattle Seahawks agreed to give up a massive amount of draft capital to acquire Jamal Adams, but they aren't adding any immediate financial burden.
Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reported Adams agreed to play out the 2020 season on the terms of his rookie contract, which will pay him $3.9 million guaranteed. The team also made "no promises" it would renegotiate his deal ahead of 2021, when Adams is due to make $9.9 million on his fifth-year option.
The Seahawks traded first-round picks in 2021 and 2022, a 2021 third-round selection and safety Bradley McDougald to the Jets in exchange for Adams and a 2022 fourth-rounder.
"I wouldn't trade two ones for a safety," one general manager told NBC Sports' Peter King on Saturday. "Particularly when you've got to pay the safety a lot of money. I like what the Jets did."
While the Seahawks may not pay Adams immediately, they will have to back up the Brinks truck at some point. Their trade for Adams can be compared to the Rams' trade for Jalen Ramsey and the Texans' deal for Laremy Tunsil.
Like Ramsey, Adams is a disgruntled All-Pro with visions of becoming the highest-paid player in the history of his position who forced his way out of his first NFL home after a falling out with management. With Ramsey, it was then-Jaguars executive vice president of football operations Tom Coughlin. With Adams, it was Jets coach Adam Gase and general manager Joe Douglas.
In an interview with Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News, Adams sealed his fate in New York by calling out Gase for a lack of leadership and Douglas for lying about giving him a new contract. The Jets dealt him to Seattle just one day after that interview was published.
Adams is also without question the best young player at his position. Pro Football Focus has consistently graded him among the best defenders in football over his three-year career, and he's an all-around marvel. Adams graded among the top 10 in his position in coverage, run support and pass rushing in 2019 and doesn't turn 25 until October.
Unlike their trade for Jadeveon Clowney last summer, the Seahawks paid a premium in draft capital to land Adams. They can't allow him to hit free agency after the 2021 season without the deal looking like a massive misfire. The Texans were in a similar situation when they made Tunsiil the NFL's highest-paid offensive lineman this offseason, and the Rams will likely be doing the same whenever they ink Ramsey's new deal.
This is a case of when, not if, the Seahawks double down by resetting the safety market with Adams' new deal.