Seahawks will have to make big Sam Darnold decision after Super Bowl LX

Sam Darnold entered the new league year this past March as the top quarterback available in free agency after he won 14 of 17 regular-season starts with the 2024 Minnesota Vikings. 

A Seattle Seahawks team that sent Geno Smith to the Las Vegas Raiders ultimately signed Darnold to what was reported to be a three-year, $100.5M contract. For an article published on Wednesday morning, NFL insider Dan Graziano of ESPN explained why Seattle "isn't really committed to" Darnold beyond the upcoming campaign.

"He got $37.5M in guaranteed money, and all of that comes this season," Graziano wrote about Darnold. "He's scheduled to make $27.5M in 2026. None of that 2026 money is guaranteed right now, but $17.5M of it becomes guaranteed if he's still on the roster five days after the Super Bowl. So Seattle will have to decide pretty early whether they want him back in 2026."

The Seahawks structuring Darnold's deal in such a way makes plenty of sense considering the up-and-down nature of his career. Serving as a backup for San Francisco 49ers starter Brock Purdy during the 2023 season helped Darnold enjoy somewhat of a reset after the third overall pick of the 2018 NFL Draft failed to cement himself as a long-term option for either the New York Jets or the Carolina Panthers. Darnold then looked like a revelation with the Vikings for the bulk of the 2024 campaign. 

Pro Football Reference shows that Darnold ended the 2024 regular season ranked fifth in the league with 35 touchdown passes, fifth with 4,319 passing yards and sixth among qualified quarterbacks with a 102.5 passer rating. 

That said, he largely resembled what he was during his worst days with the Jets and Panthers during his final two outings with Minnesota. Those performances resulted in the Vikings handing control of their offense to 2024 first-round draft pick J.J. McCarthy after he spent his rookie season recovering from the full meniscus repair he needed last summer.

As of Wednesday morning, DraftKings Sportsbook had the Seahawks at +170 betting odds to make the playoffs this season. It sounds like Seattle could turn to 2025 third-round draft pick Jalen Milroe next year if Darnold loses more than he wins from Week 1 through January.