Analyst believes Seahawks QB Geno Smith is in line for monster pay day

“I’m going to say [Smith’s next contract could be worth] $33 million per year,” Henderson said. “I’m not entirely pulling that number out of nowhere; it is loosely based on the franchise tag. …When you are a player at a certain level, and I think Geno Smith is definitely at that level where the franchise tag could come into play because he’s good enough to warrant that kind of pay day, he can always say, countering to whatever offer the Seahawks make, if it’s not what he likes, he could say, ‘No, I’m just going to play on the franchise tag.’

“…I don’t see him giving the Seahawks a huge home team discount, if any. I think that he’s going to use the franchise tag numbers as sort of a starting point.”

Smith leads the NFL with a 72.8 completion percentage, and he ranks second in passer rating (108.0), and sixth in passing yards (2,474) and touchdown passes (17). He’s also thrown the fourth-fewest interceptions (4) of all QBs with 10 or more touchdown passes.

Smith’s new contract will likely put him among the NFL’s highest-paid quarterbacks. Detroit’s Jared Goff is the 10th-highest paid QB at $33.5 million per year, while Minnesota’s Kirk Cousins ranks 11th at $33 million per year.