Kam Chancellor contract details

The Seahawks signed Kam Chancellor to a four-year extension Monday, and as is often the case, the initial numbers sounded pretty big. According to multiple reports, Chancellor’s new deal was worth $28 million with $17 million guaranteed, so at first blush, you’re thinking, whoa, $7 million a year for a strong safety? Sounds steep.

But the thing to remember is that those initial details almost always come from the player’s agent, and while they’re not exactly inaccurate, the agent has incentive to paint a picture that makes his negotiating skills look good, so the number we hear are usually the most optimistic version of the contract (ie, if the entire contract is played out, if the player hits all the incentives, etc.)

Now that the numbers are out, we can see that Chancellor will indeed be well rewarded, but not to an extent that it should keep the Seahawks from being able to pay its other young stars over the next few years. Here are Chancellor’s base salary numbers over the next five years (and it’s worth noting that he got a pay-bump this year too, so this is really a five-year deal that replaces the last year of his rookie contract, not a four-year extension)

2013—$2.825 million

2014—$4.725 million

2015—$4.55 million

2016—$5.1 million

2017—$6.8 million

Yahoo! Sports’ Brian McIntyre, who knows contract stuff better than anybody in the business, has even more details on the contract.

Per McIntyre, Chancellor received a $5 million signing bonus, and his pay bump this year moved his cap number from $1.376 M to $3.878 M. Chancellor’s 2014 and ‘15 salaries are guaranteed for injury, and become fully guaranteed if he is on the roster five days after the Super Bowl of the prior season. Chancellor’s cap numbers are $5.725 million (2014), $5.55 million (2015), $6.1 million (2016) and $8.125 million in 2017.

With Chancellor’s contract now factored in, the Seahawks currently have $4,698,008 in available cap space according to the NFL Players Association.