Sealing the deal
How Seahawks finally got Jamal Adams signed: It began with a Pete Carroll call to Mom
The day the Seahawks traded for Jamal Adams, more than a year ago, Pete Carroll picked up the phone. Of course, he called the All-Pro safety. The coach told Adams all about Seattle’s program and how the do-it-all safety would thrive in the defensive scheme upon arriving from the New York Jets last summer.
But then Carroll made another call. To Michelle Adams.
That call to Mom, July 25, 2020, was the moment Jamal Adams knew he wanted to be a Seahawk long term, beyond his contract ending with this 2021 season.
That was the day Adams’ new contract became a probability rather than possibility.
The now-richest safety in NFL history and his coach both said their bond broke an impasse in negotiations and resulted in Adams signing a four-year, $70 million contract extension Aug. 17. Adams gets $38 million guaranteed to stay with Seattle through 2025.
“Obviously, just from when Pete called, when the trade happened, him calling me, reaching out, calling my mother, that meant everything to me,” Adams, 25, said after he participated in practice for the first time in this Seahawks training camp. “It’s the little things like that.
“Our relationship has always been strong. It’s just going to continue to get better.”
It got better over the last five months, particularly during stalled contract talks between Adams and the team the last three weeks. What changed, what didn’t
Adams reported to Seahawks training camp on time July 28 to avoid NFL-mandated daily fines of $40,000.
He participated in meetings and was on the field for practices. But he wasn’t practicing, and wouldn’t until he got his new contract.
Adams was dug in, hard, on his stance of maximizing guaranteed money. He wanted as much of it at signing as possible in a league where not much beyond the present is guaranteed.
“He stood his ground,” Carroll said. “They were very firm about it . ... It was just a really intense negotiation, obviously more toward the end here.”
The Seahawks were dug in, too, entrenched in their offer of $38 million guaranteed and an average contract value, minus possible incentives, that would not exceed All-Pro linebacker Bobby Wagner’s $18 million per year. That was a key principle for Seattle. Wagner has been a franchise cornerstone for a decade. Adams has been here a year.