Seahawks franchise Hill

The Seattle Seahawks made their first major personnel decision of the 2009 offseason on Thursday, locking up a veteran free agent while committing more big money to the linebacker position.

Leroy Hill, who has spent most of his four-year NFL career playing in the shadows of Pro Bowl teammates Julian Peterson and Lofa Tatupu, was designated the Seahawks’ franchise player Thursday.

The designation means that Hill will remain with the Seahawks for at least one more season while being compensated with the average salary of the NFL’s top-five highest-paid linebackers, or about $8.3 million.

Peterson is scheduled to make $6.5 million in base salary this season, while the $42 million contract Tatupu signed last spring will include a $1.35 million base salary in 2009.

Teams are allowed to franchise one player annually, and the Seahawks clearly targeted Hill as their most marketable free agent. He currently has a pending court case from a January traffic violation that involved marijuana, and a one-game suspension is possible in 2009.

In a statement released by the team announcing the move, team president Tim Ruskell said that the team was “excited that Leroy will remain a Seahawk. We believe he is an important part of our defense and will continue to talk with his representative in hopes of securing a long-term deal which is our goal.”

Hill, a third-round pick in the 2005 NFL draft, has started 50 games and has 13.5 sacks for Seattle. He was hobbled by injuries last season, when he had just one sack all year. Hill had a franchise rookie record of 7.5 sacks in 2005 but has just six total sacks over the past three seasons.

He has registered more than 80 tackles in each of the last three seasons and is the Seahawks’ all-time leader in career postseason tackles.

The Seahawks’ other free agents for the signing period that begins next week include fullback Leonard Weaver, running back Maurice Morris and defensive tackle Rocky Bernard.