The Seahawks are just as happy to have the 25-year-old Adams locked up for the long term and back on the field after a contract dispute that dragged out three weeks into training camp. It ended Tuesday morning, when they signed him to a four-year, $70 million extension that makes him the NFL’s highest-paid safety.
The deal has a max value of $72 million over the four new years, a $20 million signing bonus and includes $38 million guaranteed, agents Kevin Conner and Robert Brown of Universal Sports told ESPN’s Adam Schefter on Tuesday.
The extension will be added to the final year of Adams’ rookie deal, so he’s now under contract through the 2025 season. There also is an option bonus worth $12.5 million that can be exercised on the first day of the 2022 league year, according to Schefter.
The Seahawks began negotiating with Adams’ agents early this offseason, and a source told ESPN that their initial offer was higher than the $15.25 million yearly average that Justin Simmons is making on the deal he signed earlier this offseason with the Denver Broncos that made him the NFL’s highest-paid safety at the time.
Adams’ new average salary of $17.5 million over that extension easily tops that mark, and he becomes the NFL’s 17th-highest-paid defender, per Spotrac data. He also becomes the team’s third-highest-paid player behind quarterback Russell Wilson ($35 million per season) and linebacker Bobby Wagner ($18 million).