SEATTLE SEAHAWKS
Seahawks sign Michael Bennett to reported 3-year contract extension
Dec 30, 2016, 9:22 AM | Updated: 12:52 pm
Michael Bennett signed a three year, $33 million contract extension this week. (AP)
(AP)
Pro Bowl defensive end Michael Bennett is finally getting the lucrative contract from the Seahawks he’s been angling for since 2015.
Bennett has signed a multi-year contract extension with Seattle, which according to reports confirmed by 710 ESPN Seattle’s Gee Scott is for three years and valued at $31.5 million total.
The Seahawks announced the extension Friday afternoon. Reports of the deal first broke Friday morning.
Under his previous deal, Bennett was set to become a free agent after the 2017 season, but it now appears he is set to finish his career as a member of the Seahawks.
The contract reportedly includes $17.5 million guaranteed, according to the NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. Bennett will earn $16 million in 2017 and $ 19 million by March 5 of 2018, per Rapoport.
Bennett, 31, began to voice his unhappiness with his previous deal after the 2014 season, which was one year into a four-year contract he signed worth $28.5 million. He maintained that opinion publicly last offseason, though he never resorted to holding out – something the Seahawks no doubt appreciated, especially considering the impact Kam Chancellor’s holdout had in 2015.
Judging by Bennett’s Instagram account, he’s quite pleased with his new deal.
The extension is a rare move for Seattle, as it comes with more than a year – although just barely – left on Bennett’s current deal, something the franchise has avoided since general manager John Schneider and head coach Pete Carroll arrived in 2010.
The deal will make Bennett the third highest paid player on the Seahawks roster, right behind quarterback Russell Wilson and cornerback Richard Sherman.
Bennett joined Seattle in 2013, coming from Tampa Bay on a one-year deal in free agency, and he was a key piece of their Super Bowl-winning team. That prompted the Seahawks to sign him to the four-year deal that he quickly outplayed.
He was a first-time Pro Bowler in 2015, even winning defensive MVP honors in the game, and he was recently nominated to his second straight Pro Bowl.
Despite missing some time due to knee surgery this season, Bennett has 32 combined tackles and four sacks for Seattle in 2016. Over four years with the Seahawks, Bennett has 29.5 sacks, including a career-high 10 in 2015, and he has built a reputation as one of the best pass-rushers in the NFL, if not one of the best defensive players period.
MyNorthwest.com’s Kipp Robertson contributed to this report.
