Sunday marks four weeks since the Seattle Seahawks thumped the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LX 29-13, laying claim to the title of World Champions. Specifically, fifth year options are fully guaranteed at exercise, and in the present case of JSN and Witherspoon, the options cover the 2027 NFL season. That means that exercising the options means Witherspoon and JSN would have fully guaranteed salaries in a future league year, which would, of course, trigger the funding rule. However, given the cash spending obligations of the Seahawks in 2026 under the minimum spending requirements of the CBA that Field Gulls covered Wednesday, exercising the fifth year options adds tens of millions more in cash obligations for 2026. The signing bonuses of contract extensions alone would likely put the team close to, if not in excess of the 2026 cash spending requirements.

Source: New York Times March 05, 2026 18:40 UTC