Seattle Seahawks sign Jamal Adams to 4-year extension with maximum value of $72 million

2:14 p.m. ET

• Brady HendersonESPN

RENTON, Washington – It took five months of negotiations, $ 38 million in guarantees, and maternal advice for Jamal Adams’ record-breaking contract extension to finally get done.

Michelle Adams helped push the deal through when she texted her son Monday night from her home in Dallas.

“She said my full name and if my mother says my full name I’ll have to be careful,” said Adams. “She gave me a nice little paragraph and basically just told me that you don’t have to prove anything else to anyone. You have done enough. We are happy. As long as my family is happy and I’m happy, I can come and do what I like to do, that’s all that is important to me. “

The Seahawks are just as happy to have 25-year-old Adams locked up 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 on a four-year extension of $ 70 million, making him the highest-paid security guard in the NFL.

The deal has a maximum value of $ 72 million over the four new years, a contract bonus of $ 20 million and a guaranteed amount of $ 38 million, Universal Sports agents Kevin Conner and Robert Brown said Tuesday to Adam Schefter from ESPN.

The extension is added to the final year of Adams’ rookie deal, so he’s now under contract through the 2025 season. According to Schefter, there is also a $ 12.5 million option bonus that can be exercised on the first day of the league year 2022.

“That was the plan all along, to pursue a great football player, put him on the program, pay what you have to pay to make it through in the form of draft picks, and then know that we would do it “A contract,” said coach Pete Carroll, “it took a while to get it done, but now it’s over.”

The Seahawks began negotiating with Adams’ agents earlier this off-season, and a source told ESPN that their original offer was higher than the annual average of $ 15.25 million Justin Simmons is getting on the deal he earlier had signed with the Denver Broncos that off-season, making him the NFL’s highest-paid security at the time.

Adams’ new median salary of $ 17.5 million over this extension far exceeds that mark and becomes the 17th highest-paid defender in the NFL according to Spotrac data. He also becomes the third highest paid player on the team behind quarterback Russell Wilson ($ 35 million per season) and linebacker Bobby Wagner ($ 18 million).

Best of the world!!! 🐐🐐🐐
Congratulations brother! 33 deserved! God is faithful! @Prez pic.twitter.com/uHiZRm1iQ0

– Russell Wilson (@DangeRussWilson) August 17, 2021

Adams reported to the training camp on time, but did not train with an unclear contract.

“Obviously it was hard to get out of here and keep watching and not be as involved as I wanted, but I got the business and we worked together all along,” he said. “Don’t believe anything out there – everything was fine. There is no break in relationship.”

Adams was set to make $ 9.86 million in 2021, the final year of the rookie deal he signed with the New York Jets as the No. 6 pick in 2017. The Seahawks inherited that deal when they bought Adams’ last summer for a package of picks that included Seattle’s first rounds in 2021 and ’22, making it their wildest trade in the era of Carroll / General Manager John Schneider.

Was he willing to miss out on games if he didn’t get a new deal by the time the Seahawks kick off against the Indianapolis Colts on September 12?

“Hell no man,” he said with a smile. “I’m not Boo Boo the Fool. I didn’t want to accept the contract, so no. Where I’m from we definitely take that. Mama called [after her text]. She called twice, and when mom called and told me I had to accept the contract, it was a breeze. Mama knows best. “

Adams was an all-pro first-team selection in 2019 and has been called up to the Pro Bowl for each of the past three seasons. Last season he set the league’s single-season record for Sacks by Defensive with a score of 9.5. That number led the team, as did its 14 tackles for loss and 30 pressures which, according to ESPN Stats & Information research, were 14 more than any other defensive back in the league.

He missed four games with a groin injury, playing injuries to both shoulders (including a torn labrum that needed surgery), two broken fingers (that also needed surgery), and a hyperextended elbow.

“What our fans didn’t realize last year is that he was injured, playing some games with one arm because his shoulder was bad,” said Carroll. “If you were in the stadium you could probably see that more clearly. But I think our fans will understand and appreciate the toughness he showed and the courage and all the beautiful aspects that he brought forward . He really is something “.”

Adams had joined many of his teammates by skipping the voluntary offseason program – several veteran players only entered the past week – and was released from the mandatory minicamp so he could attend to a family matter. Tuesday was his first training session since last season, so the Seahawks limited his reps.

Carroll said Adams was “razor sharp but not footballing”. The plan is to slowly bring it back up. Carroll isn’t sure if Adams will play in either of the two remaining preseason games.

He commended Adams for the way he had behaved in the negotiations, even as they turned into a star down in recent weeks.

“In this case we really had to hold our own and when you do that the relationships become more important,” said Carroll. “What I loved about this process was that Jamal was with us the entire time. We stayed in communication … and talked our way through the emotional part and the challenging part, the business part. We survived it all. “

And, as Carroll noted, Adams stood firm too.

“So it took five months,” said Carroll. “You were very persistent… It was just a really intense negotiation, obviously more towards the end here. There was a lot of calm between all of this, but I thought that both sides were really competing really hard on this one. And it’s really a great conclusion for us. For him too. It is a lot for him. He knows that. Tremendous business. But it’s a lot for our franchise because this is the commitment we made a long time ago and we’ve seen it up to that point. “

Adams FaceTimed his father, former NFL running back George Adams, when he signed the deal.

“He’s just so proud,” said the younger Adams. “Just making my father proud and making my loved ones proud is nothing like that. I don’t care what anyone says about me. It’s about my family. That’s my why. That’s why I do what I open up I’m doing this area. So just see how happy they are, it’s nothing like it. “