The Seahawks gave Geno Smith his third act in the NFL. He’s responded by agreeing to one heck of a discount on his new contract. Yesterday it was reported that Smith agreed to a three-year deal worth a total of $105 million. That’s a bargain on paper, but the details make it even sweeter.
According to a report by Mike Garafolo at NFL Network, Smith is only getting a total of $40 million fully guaranteed and the base value is just $25 million per season. He has a total of $30 million in incentives.
The #Seahawks’ deal with Geno Smith has a base value of $25 million per season (three years, $75 million) with $40 million fully guaranteed at signing, sources say.
Smith will earn $28 million in the first year of the deal. He has $30 million in incentives.
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) March 7, 2023
In a market where Derek Carr is getting $37.5 million annually and Daniel Jones’ people are pushing for more than $40 million per season this is an absolute grand slam of a steal by Seattle’s front office.
In order for this contract to go bad Smith would either have to suffer a career-ending injury this coming season or permanently regress to the type of quarterback he was early in his career with the Jets. If he continues playing at the top-10 level he did in 2022 this will become one of the most team-friendly contracts in the league.