Jamal Adams could reportedly challenge Seahawks’ franchise tag as safety
By Sydney Hunte
Published:
Jamal Adams is a safety in the NFL. That much is obvious.
But could we be looking at Jamal Adams, the linebacker? Possibly, but it’s a little complicated, and there’s a reason behind it.
Adams and the Seattle Seahawks are at an impasse regarding a potential contract extension as the team has offered him a 4-year, $70 million deal, making him the highest-paid safety in the NFL. His current contract, which will see him earn over $9.8 million this season, ends after 2021, and if the sides can’t come to an agreement, the Seahawks could place the franchise tag on him ahead of the 2022 campaign and again a year later.
According to Mike Florio, though, Adams could find a way around that by declaring himself a linebacker, which would mean more money for him as he would apparently make the average salary of the 10 highest-payed players at the position ($17.87 million), versus $13.55 million if he were franchise-tagged as a safety. Florio also notes that the amount for linebackers is projected to be $21.44 million in 2023.
The Seahawks, clearly, would rather not pay that much. But after forcing a trade from the Jets in the 2020 offseason after they failed to ink him to a long-term deal, it seems another chapter in this saga is being written.
Sydney is an Atlanta-based journalist who has covered everything from SEC and ACC football to MLS, the U.S. men's national soccer team and professional tennis. His work has appeared on such platforms as SB Nation, Cox Media Group and FanSided.
