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Sam Darnold is heading into Season No. 2 with the Seattle Seahawks, and after this 2026 NFL season, he will have one year remaining on his three-year deal. While the Seahawks are likely focusing on other players whom they need to extend, that doesn’t mean the media can’t speculate on what Darnold could command.
In his first season with the Seahawks, Darnold played 1,085 total snaps, leading to a 79.3 overall PFF grade. He recorded 4,048 passing yards and 25 touchdowns against 14 interceptions. Moreover, Darnold generated 29 big-time throws and 19 turnover-worthy plays.
Nonetheless, the most important aspect was winning Super Bowl LX. Because of that, ESPN’s Bill Barnwell sees Darnold’s representation looking at what Baker Mayfield will get either from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers or elsewhere.
“If you’re Sam Darnold’s agent, you’re looking at that negotiation very closely and saying, ‘Hey, if Baker Mayfield gets maybe $50 million per year, well gosh, Sam Darnold’s won a Super Bowl,‘” Barnwell said on the June 19 edition of “Bump and Stacy“ (h/t Seattle Sports). “At the end of the day, I don’t think the Seahawks are naive to that reality. This is a good problem to have.”
Barnwell isn’t the only national football media member being asked about Darnold’s future contract. During a May 14 appearance on Seattle Sports, NFL Network Analyst and former NFL scout Daniel Jeremiah was asked whether he sees the Seahawks star crossing into the $50 million-per-year salary range that some of the upper-echelon QBs are earning.
“I think he’s heading in that direction [of $50 million-per-year],“ Jeremiah said on “Brock & Salk.“ “If [the Seahawks are] going to stick to their guns on their policy and he comes out and has a year that approaches what he did last year, I would say he’s going to land in that ballpark.
“I think he’s also going to get the benefit of who he is as a person. It’s like, ‘OK, I don’t feel super comfortable paying this, but he’s going to allow me to feel a little more comfortable because of who he is and how he’s viewed.'”
Moreover, Darnold will look to show he can replicate the success he had in his first season with the Seahawks, and while the team is coming off a Super Bowl win, not many are talking about Seattle repeating.
Barnwell quipped that he’s never heard a team claim it gets the respect it deserves. At the same time, he acknowledged there may be some legitimacy to the Seahawks’ belief that they’re being overlooked. Now, it doesn’t help that the Los Angeles Rams have made headlines this offseason with their trades for Myles Garrett and Trent McDuffie.
“I understand where they’re coming from,“ Barnwell said. “Maybe a prove-it kind of thing that I don’t think other Super Bowl teams have had to do. I think part of that’s Sam Darnold, (and) part of that’s just because the expectation was not that this would be a Super Bowl team. I think it would have been the same thing, frankly, had it been the Patriots winning instead of the Seahawks. … Seahawks-Patriots was not exactly on anyone’s radar. So, I do think that’s the element of it.”
Eduardo Razo Eduardo Razo is a sports writer for Heavy.com, covering the NFL, MLB, and college football. He has previously covered the NFL, NBA, NHL, and MLB for NBC Sports Washington and NBC Sports Bay Area & California, and has freelanced for PSG Talk, covering Paris Saint-Germain. He also worked as an editor at Athlon Sports, focusing on MLB and the NFL. More about Eduardo Razo
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