Seahawks, Chris Clemons agree to multi-year extension
Jul 24, 2012, 5:06 PM | Updated: 8:35 pm
By Brady Henderson
Confirming several media reports from a day earlier, the Seahawks announced Tuesday they have agreed to terms with defensive end Chris Clemons on a multi-year contract extension.
The Seahawks did not specify the length or value of the deal. Jason La Canfora of CBSsports.com reports it’s a three-year deal that will pay Clemons an average of more than $7 million per year. Clemons had a year remaining on his old deal, but according to La Canfora the new deal wipes that season out and runs through the 2014 season.
The announcement puts an official end to any speculation that Clemons might hold out during training camp. The deal ensures the Seahawks will have their most consistent pass rusher beyond 2012.
“Pete, myself, and the entire Seahawks family are very pleased to reward a player that has been a consistent difference maker since we acquired him,” general manager John Schneider said in a press release.
Clemons, 30, led the Seahawks with 11 sacks in each of the last two seasons. He missed most of the team’s offseason workouts due to frustration over his contract. Skipping the three-day mandatory minicamp last month cost Clemons a $100,000 workout bonus and roughly $60,000 in fines. It was later discovered that he also forfeited an escalator that had bumped his 2012 salary from $3 million to $4 million. That clause was written into the contract he signed in 2008 with the Eagles, who traded Clemons to Seattle before the 2010 season.
ESPN’s John Clayton said during Tuesday’s edition of “Cold Hard Facts” that neither Clemons nor the Seahawks were aware of the clause until after the minicamp. Having already lost more than $1 million, Clayton said, Clemons wasn’t going to continue his holdout during training camp and subject himself to more fines.
“So they get him at good value, he gets his best payday [of his career], he gets back the potential million dollars he would have lost had he not got a contract extension, and everybody’s happy,” Clayton said.
