The Seattle Seahawks have locked up their star wide receiver.
The team confirmed Tuesday that the Seahawks reached an agreement on a four-year contract extension with receiver Doug Baldwin, keeping Baldwin in Seattle through 2020.
ESPN’s Adam Caplan reported that the deal is for four years and $46 million, with $24.25 million guaranteed. That averages out to $11.5 million per season.
Baldwin is entering the final season of a three-year, $13 million extension signed with the Seahawks prior to the 2014 season. That extension gave Baldwin a base salary of $4 million for the upcoming season.
Baldwin, 27, is coming off a breakout campaign. In his fifth season after being an undrafted free agent out of Stanford, Baldwin finished 2015 with 78 catches for 1,069 yards and 14 touchdown receptions. All three numbers were career highs — his previous bests were 66 catches and 825 yards in 2014, and five TDs in 2013 — and the 14 touchdown catches were a franchise record.
Baldwin truly hit his stride beginning with Week 10 against Arizona, when he caught seven passes for 134 yards and a touchdown in a 39-32 defeat. He later had a period in which he caught 10 TDs over a four-game stretch, joining the legendary Jerry Rice as the only receivers in NFL history to accomplish the feat. His contributions were a key component in Seattle winning six of its final seven games to claim a playoff spot, with the Seahawks scoring 32 points per game in the process.
The Seahawks made it clear throughout the offseason that getting Baldwin signed to a contract extension was a priority.
“It is a big deal,” Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said as veteran minicamp camp wrapped up on June 16. “It’s a very serious negotiation, as they all are. But he’s done an incredible job for us, been a great, great teammate. Eventually we’ll get something worked out, I hope. The intent is to get him signed and secured for a good while. We’ll see if we can get that done.”
Baldwin seemed unconcerned about his contract situation during the offseason, deflecting most questions on the subject.
“If I focus on the task at hand, all that other stuff will take care of itself,” Baldwin said during minicamp. “So I don’t really have to think about it too much.”
Baldwin’s average salary of $11.5 million per season is the seventh-highest among NFL receivers. It eclipses the contract extensions signed by Jacksonville’s Allen Hurns (four years, $40 million) and San Diego’s Keenan Allen (four years, $45 million) earlier this month.
The signing of Baldwin to an extension means Seattle’s primary receiving corps will remain intact for the forseeable future. Jermaine Kearse, who starts opposite Baldwin, signed a three-year, $13.5 million contract with the Seahawks as an unrestricted free agent in March, a deal that runs through the 2018 season. Meanwhile the electric Tyler Lockett, coming off a sparkling rookie season, has his rookie contract extend through 2018.
Follow Nick Patterson on Twitter at @NickHPatterson.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
