Some thoughts on the Kam Chancellor hold out

Kam Chancellor appears ready to extend his hold out into the regular season

ESPN’s Josina Anderson, who courted some controversy a year ago after a report on Michael Sam’s showering habits, has recently taken to fighting Kam Chancellor’s corner as his holdout lingers without any sign of ending.

On August 7th Anderson wrote a report on Facebook that felt more like a press release from Chancellor’s agent. It went into great detail about his salary and what he was seemingly asking the Seahawks to do. She noted the QBR rating of opposing quarterbacks facing Seattle without Chancellor. She noted how many snaps he’d played since 2010.

Anderson even offered the following opinion:

My impression of Chancellor is that he’s a man of principal who gives his life path a lot of thought and meditation, and that he’s methodical about his options.

Today she appeared on the Brock and Salk show to discuss the situation. The two hosts very graciously credited her with “owning” the story while she again proceeded to do Chancellor’s bidding.

It was a slightly difficult and not altogether neutral view of the situation.

It’s nothing compared to the difficult position Seahawks fans find themselves in when considering this impasse.

You won’t find a single fan with a bad thing to say about Kam Chancellor. Not only is he a tremendous strong safety, he’s everything a working fan wants to see on their team. A physical, uncompromising style. A tone-setting force. That enviable chess-piece every other team wishes they had. He seems to always play his best football in the post-season — and the regular season stuff isn’t half bad either. He’ll play hurt, play for his team mates and lead by example.

And yet increasingly fans are starting to question the motives of this highly respected member of the LOB.

Football might be a business to the players. It’s true that teams will cast individuals aside with little care or second thought. Yet to the fans it’s just a game. A release from the mundanity of everyday life. And when they see multi-millionaire’s going on strike because they want even more money — it’s hard to understand.

The players argue they put their bodies on the line every Sunday for 16 weeks a year for entertainment. That might be the case — but what about the guy who works 12-hour shifts on a building site for an annual salary less than the amount Kam Chancellor is willing to give up in fines for missing one day of training camp?

Is that guy not equally putting his body on the line? Is he allowed to sign a contract and then not turn up when he decides he wants more money?

How can he be expected to see Chancellor’s side of the story on this situation?

If he holds-out into the regular season, he’ll be throwing millions of dollars ($1M in fines and $4.45M in 2015 guaranteed money) down the drain. And for what? He’s still contracted to the Seahawks until 2017. He’d have to show up in week 10 to record an accrued season, otherwise he’d be under contract until the end of 2018. If he plays the last six games does he hold out again next year? And the year after?

By the time he hits free agency he’d be 30 years old, having wasted millions in salary and potential fines. Is a 30-year-old Chancellor going to command a massive new contract on the open market? Or would he just be wasting a ton of cash, the best years of his career and an opportunity to lead this team to another Championship or two — cementing his legacy as one of Seattle’s all-time greats?

Granted he probably senses that at age 30 he’ll be close to the end of his career. The time to earn is now, during his peak. It’s just too bad he already signed the coveted second-contract. He and his agent made their bed — now they must sleep in it. The Seahawks showed a ton of faith to reward Chancellor early with a handsome contract. Should they now be punished because the market has flipped in their favour?

This seems to be at the heart of the hold-out. Chancellor has to play the ‘I’m irreplaceable’ card. He has no other play to make if he wants more money today. The only way he can prove he’s irreplaceable is to miss games with the hope the team struggles in his absence. As a fan, how can you begin to understand that stance? It’s the only leverage he has.

He has to force the Seahawks to act, otherwise they won’t. Why would they? If they buckle for Chancellor they have to deal with Michael Bennett next year. Or Richard Sherman. Or Earl Thomas.

And isn’t that the beauty of this roster? It’s not reliant on one player on either side of the ball in the way Houston relies on J.J. Watt or Green Bay Aaron Rodgers. Losing Chancellor would be a blow — but you’ve still got Bennett, Mebane, Avril, Irvin, Clark, Wagner, Wright, Sherman, Thomas, Williams and others.

Would the Seahawks panic in week six if one of their key players suffered an injury? Did they panic when they lost Mebane last year? Of course not. It’s next man up. And it’ll almost certainly be that way if Chancellor prolongs his hold out into the regular season.

As things stand they have $5m in free cap space. Unfortunately that’s really -$1m as around $6m is required for the 52nd/53rd player on the roster, Injured Reserve and the practise squad. So they really don’t have the cap space to give Chancellor a pay increase.

Anderson’s point regarding signing-bonus conversion is all well and good — but why should the Seahawks make that move? They know full well they’ll be setting a bad precedent for any other player who wants to pull a similar stunt in the future. Chancellor and his agent signed the deal. Now they’re trying to force the Seahawks into a move they don’t have to make.

This stand-off doesn’t appear to be benefiting anyone other than Josina Anderson’s Facebook page.

***Update***

Adam Schefter reaffirms Anderson’s note that Chancellor is willing to hold out during the regular season.

The report on Evan Mathis is intriguing. Is it an attempt by the Mathis camp to jump start his market? It reads like a ‘come and get me’ plea. After all, he’s supposedly asking for a handsome salary (he wanted more than $5.5m a year from the Eagles) — and as we noted in the piece, Seattle has almost no cap room to play with.

Alternatively — do the Seahawks have to find a way to slot Mathis into the roster? Even if it means sacrificing another player? The offensive line is clearly a concern. Mathis is a tried and tested guard and would instantly upgrade the unit (albeit as merely a stopgap).

At the moment it’s just a visit he might not even make.

80 Comments

  1. Rugby Lock

    As much as I love Kam, his is the only current Seahawks jersey I have, the team cannot bow into his demands at all. If they do you can kiss any long championship window goodbye. The line would wrap all the way around Clink if they did.

  2. New Guy

    I heard that interview live on 710 ESPN. She seemed like she was less a journalist than an employee/fan of Kam Ltd. Definitely not a professional at what she does. More of a player advocate activist. Maybe she thinks that’s where her bread is buttered. Still, that’s a weak position on which to base a career.

    Regarding Kam, from a distance it seems like PC/JS have decided that it’s in the best long term interest of the Seahawk organization to hold the line no matter what happens with Kam. If he comes in by Game 1, that’s fine. If he holds out all season, that’s OK too. They will not be able to hold all the horses in the corral if they drop the discipline of their team-building vision at this time.

    If they trade him for a starting Tackle to some other team then that will still show the other players wanting new, upgraded contracts that all they have to do is show some discontent and they can get traded into a better contract.

    They have to hold the line. There are enough talented Seahawks on defense (and now offense) to have a strong, winning team. It’s too bad but that seems to be the direction we’re headed. At some point Kam will have to decide if he wants to sit out the year and lose his whole income. Kam and the Seahawks are concerned about the length of time he can still play at a high level given his style of play. Kam’s biological clock is ticking.

    .

  3. cha

    Agree wholeheartedly Rob.

    The beauty of the Seahawks defense is the players work together to make it great. When Chancellor had a great game against the Panthers in the playoffs, the color guys immediately starting touting him as the ‘guy who makes things go’ in the Seahawks defense. My eyes nearly rolled out of my head, because Mebane, Wagner, Thomas, Bennett and Avril have all been recently described that way.

    I want Chancellor on this team. I’d much rather have him than any return in trade plus his cap space. But this tack on his part just will not work. It honestly might be one of the most lop-sided holdouts in recent memory. He not only has little to no leverage, he has little to no fan opinion on his side in this one. How has he not sacked his agent?

    • cha

      …and Sherman too. See how many defensive greats we have? I forgot the best CB on the planet.

  4. Volume12

    The conspiracy theorist in me (is that a word) wonders if he’s hiding an iniury.

    The best line in Rob’s post was ‘Kam and his agent made their bed-now they must sleep in it.’ If Kam didn’t like the deal he shouldn’t of signed it. I honestly never thought Kam would hold out. Surprised he isn’t back yet, and would be floored if he misses regular season games and those checks that come along with it.

    As ET said ‘Kam get your ass HOME!’

    • Volume12

      And thus is why I’m most looking forward to watching S Dion Bailey tommorow night. Excluding Britt and Gilliam at their new spots. That’s a given.

      • Screeching Hawk

        Good point Volume12 since we have been hearing nothing but praise for Dion Bailey. It sucks because Kam is such an integral part of our awesome #1 defense. Please come back Bam Bam! I know it would be illegal or even wrong in some of your eyes. Can’t the tooth fairy leave him some Cheddar under his pillow? I’d be cool with it, and personally I think deflate gate is bunch of shite!

      • Kelly Orr

        I am very interested in watching Dion Bailey as well. Seems to always be around the ball to make a play. I also wonder although he has switched to OLB if Eric Pinkins would also be allowed a shot at SS. Isn’t that the position he played as San Diego State?

    • sdcoug

      What’s most frustrating to me is that at the time he signed his deal, that bed was pretty darn comfy. As Rob alluded, the Hawks rewarded Kam with a pretty sweet deal when he was coming off a fairly average season. If I remember correctly, it caught a lot of fans by surprise, and many felt he wasn’t the right guy to lock up. Yes, Kam has gone on to earn the contract…but my point is, he was given a very nice deal at the time, and that deal is still holding up even in an adjusted market. These guys get handed a ton of up-front money, and a season later they feel disrespected already. Just doesn’t make sense.

      • Volume12

        Your right. At the time I was expecting ET or Sherm to get that extension. And he was coming off a disappointing year.

        At least to my eye his deal seems extremely fair. Does he not get how it works or something? Maybe our boys need a sit-down and or lesson on how contracts are structured, guarantees, etc.

        He has to know how valued he is in this system. It goes beyond money with him. He’s the definition of a tone-setter. Kam blows a guy up on the opening kickoff or a receiver/HB over the middle on the 1st series, we’ve all seen the intimidation factor go into effect for the rest of the game. Again I agree that it doesn’t make sense. Not in the slightest.

        • arias

          I agree it doesn’t make sense to us Vol. We’re looking at the situation objectively. But we have no idea what kind of enablers he surrounds himself with and what they’re whispering in his ear. Ever watch Ballers?

          Not suggesting Kam keeps bad company, his enablers could be his close family members for all we know. But I’m sure he has them. He’s surely not doing this with his tight circle telling him it’s a bad idea.

    • JeffC

      The injury conspiracy thing has also been in my mind. Bob Condotta insists there’s no way that this is the case as he’d have to pass a physical on any new deal, but I can’t shake the suspicion. And it doesn’t have to be an injury, it may just be something he knows within his body that it’s breaking down and he doesn’t have much left.

      • Volume12

        Bingo Jeff. It’s odd that he was at voluntary OTAs, but not training camp. Something is off here man.

        • JeffC

          That’s a good point. Something changed between OTA’s and training camp. If it’s not the new deals that Wags and RW got, then the injury/something ain’t right in by body suspicion goes way up for me. We’ll likely never know, though.

      • Screeching Hawk

        Your scaring me now! I know he won’t last forever but you guys are making me upset.

    • rowdy

      I’ve been thinking the same but he has to pass a physical when we come back with or without a new deal. if this is the case I say hold out and heal up and come back when you’re ready. you hear reports that he wants bigger bonus money up front and then you hear reports they want more money overall.don’t know what one is true but kam has to do whats best for him.

    • CHawk Talker Eric

      Interesting possibility.

      But I think at some point this past off season, someone (or several someones) helped Kam reach the conclusion that he played himself into a better contract last year.

      This business about how there was some unwritten understanding between SEA and Kam and his agent that his contract would be renegotiated if he “earned” it reeks of (slightly delusional) self justification.

      Also, regardless of how he got there, if he thinks he’s earned a new contract, he’s not going to work without one because Kam is a principled man who stands by his convictions – says Josina Anderson. At what point does she (and the rest of the media), and even Kam himself paint the man into a corner from which he cannot gracefully escape? Has that already happened?

  5. M

    One of the first rules of negotiating is you need to understand the opposite side’s position as well as your own.

    If he did that, he should know that he has painted the Seahawks in a corner and there is simply no way they can concede and significantly rework his deal. If he understood their position, he would understand there is an exactly zero chance of that happening. So, what he (and his agent) have created is an unfortunate lose-lose scenario. Good luck with that.

    Moreover, he’s the 2nd highest paid strong safety to begin with and it sends a clear signal to the team that he’s put his needs ahead of the team.

    In a salary cap world, there is no such thing as disrespect as it pertains to compensation. What it does mean is that some players will have somewhat more favorable deals, some somewhat less, some no deals at all and some players traded. Let’s hope we don’t reach the latter scenario with Kam but if we do, it’ll be his own doing.

    In the end, I suspect we’ll see a slightly tweaked deal which combined with the loss (or prospective loss) of game checks will pretty much force Kam back to the field.

    • JeffC

      If he doesn’t come back by week 6 and doesn’t remove one year of service off his contract, then I can’t see any option for him but to retire or come back with his tail between his legs. Clayton is comparing this to Alex Boone last year. In the end, Kam has to come back. If it’s about money, he has no options but to come back.

      • arias

        Week 10.

        • JeffC

          Yeah sorry. Was looking at the “games needed to play” in reverse.

  6. Al U

    The Brock and Salk interview was plain odd. Josina Anderson didn’t sound remotely like a professional journalist.

    One thing I always find weird is when people link the amount of money available to the Seahawks with Paul Allen’s wealth, seemingly disregarding the fact there is a salary cap.

    I also wonder whether a key cause of player unhappiness is semantics when agents and journalists discuss their deals. What I mean is, a player signs a 4 year $28 million deal with a $14m guarantee, that’s not a contract for 4 years or $28m. If the deal was announced as a $14m contract with a team option to take it to $28m over 4 years maybe players wouldn’t feel so hard done by.

    • JeffC

      It seems weird to me that posters on a football blog understand the salary cap better than football agents and the players it affects.

  7. AdamB

    All the above points are well and good, but it seems to me you guys are operating from a position of logic and reason.

    Kam Chancellor doesn’t strike me as the most “Spock-ish” of individuals, in fact, I would argue his personality and play have shown him to be very much a man of extreme emotions. And for someone who wears their hearts on their sleeves, principles and pride blow any of your reasoning out of the water.

    I think Kam is currently in the midst of what could be a very expensive lesson in humility (and leverage). As has been stated, the team holds ALL the cards, and the only move that works in Kam’s favor at this point is some discreet face-saving maneuvers from all parties, and a relatively quick return to the actual game. Anything other than that, and Kam could be ruining his career.

  8. mrpeapants

    let him sit! tired of these petty money squabbles. if he cant live the rest of his life on what hes already made then something is seriously wrong with him. f you cam go hawks!

  9. Trevor

    Best write up I have seen on the topic to date. Great work as usual Rob!

    The part I find most baffling about this whole situation is that Kam is the highest paid SS in the league in Total $ and was extended early. He is supposed to be a team guy and leader but his actions now speak louder than words.

    IN THE ENTIRE NFL KAM CHANCELLOR IS THE ONLY PLAYER UNDER CONTRACT HOLDING OUT!!!!

    That says it all in my opinion. To me this only can mean one of the following things and none of them are good.

    1.He has an incredible inflated sense of his self worth and has lost touch with the reality of the situation
    2.He is a sheep following this agent the Shepard who is giving him incredibly bad advice
    3.The Hawks told him they would redo his deal and are now reneging (least likely option)
    4.Kam has serious financial issues we are not aware of
    5. He is hurt and can’t participate in camp so why not hold out and try to get some extra $

    I love Kam the player. One of my favorite Hawks of all time but Kam the professional athlete / business man is ruining that image. I like many other fans are to the point that I don’t even care if he comes back now and hope he sits the entire year. I trully hope Dion Bailey has a great pre-season and make Kams hold out a non issue for the Hawks.

    • JeffC

      I’m suspicious of #5 and #4 but it’s probably #1. And really, loss to the team is not a full Kam Chancellor, it’s the delta of how much better he is than Dion Bailey. We had to prepare for this day, so might as well make it now.

      And with #5 it truly doesn’t have to be an actual injury. Athletes know their bodies better than most. They know when things feel right or are off. It’s very possible he sees the handwriting on the wall and feels he needs to squeeze every penny while he can.

      • AlaskaHawk

        I can understand why he wants more guaranteed money as he plays a physically demanding position. If he wants more salary then that is different, he should have picked a position that pays more like cornerback. It is kinda sad that some positions are worth so much more, Sherman and Thomas making much more then Chancellor, but that is how football has paid for those skill sets.

        If he is hurt then he should be talking to Pete Carroll and figuring out how to rehab. Going silent is a big no-no if you want to stay on the team.

  10. kevin mullen

    I wonder if Eric Pinkins gets a nudge to SS should Kam hold out goes into the regular season? Just thinking out loud but Pinkins is as close to a Kam clone physically than anyone on the roster. Love me some Kam but we need a contingency plan should this go into week 10.

    • CHawk Talker Eric

      I don’t think so, mainly because of the emergence of Dion Bailey. I know Shead is #1 on the depth chart right now, but I got a feeling about Bailey. Like V12 said, he’s one to keep an eye on tomorrow.

      Also, SEA needs to look towards life after Irvin if they can’t keep him beyond this year. Indeed, Irvin may have (over)conditioned himself out of SAM minutes this season with his extra weight. He didn’t have a great game vs DEN (then again, neither did BWags), so it remains to be seen if he’s still a viable 3 down SAM.

    • lil'stink

      Pinkins has all of Kam’s size with better speed. I think Kam’s ability in pass coverage is very underrated and if I had to guess it’s miles ahead of where Pinkins is at which is why he hasn’t been plugged in at SS this camp. Pinkins or even KPL are intruiging as an ‘in the box’ sort of safety, though. Bailey seems like a better all around choice to follow in Kam’s footsteps at this point.

  11. rowdy

    Great article rob! By far the best I’ve read on situation. You tell both sides of the story from each sides prospective without favoring either one. First report I’ve read that did that and it shows why it’s lasted so long. Both sides have great points and reason to stand firm. I can personally see 3-5 mil more guaranteed over the next two years and wipe out his fines and I only say that because it Kam and no one put your body on the line more than him but I also see that’s the same reason the Seahawks don’t want to do it.

  12. nichansen01

    I hate to say this but if Kam is serious about not coming back till he gets paid and he won’t get paid by thsi front office, I say trade him, pick up a 2016 1st rounder and another teams average linemen and sign Evan Mathis, then name Dion Bailey the starting strong safety.

    • nichansen01

      Better no Kam and some compensation then no Kam at all.

      • JeffC

        A trade likely will never happen. If any teams trades for him, they know they have to give him a new deal or he holds out on them. This defeats one of seattle’s reasons for not renegotiating. Everyone with a long term deal would know that seattle will have to “do something” (trade included) to make the player happy.

        • Screeching Hawk

          That is a very thought out good point JeffC. I would be so sad if we traded “The Chancellor “

      • JeffC

        And I believe there’d still be a dead money cap hit (like we faced after we traded Harvin). Really, Kam will be a seahawk at least for 3 more seasons or he won’t play.

        • DC

          If I’m interpreting this correctly, (http://www.spotrac.com/nfl/seattle-seahawks/kam-chancellor/) Kam’s remaining bonus money for 2015-2017 is $3M which would accelerate into this year’s cap if a trade took place. So his 2015 base salary of $4,550,000 – $3,000,000 = a cap savings of $1,550,000 this year which is synonymous with jack shit for additional space.

          My feeling on all of this is that Kam, much as we all love him, sees the writing on the wall. He is one of the future cap casualties due to the structure of his contract and being one of the largest injury risks due to the way he plays the game. Which is why we all love him so much.

          So what would the Seahawks gain in a Kam trade? $1.55M in 2015 cap space and a draft pick/s?

          The trade partner would have to be a team that we would only see once in 4 years and has sufficient cap space to rework Kam’s deal right now. Jacksonville? A 3rd rounder or a 4th rounder plus change?

          So a trade is unlikely & not what the Seahawks want but it’s not an impossible scenario, especially if this drags on into the regular season.

        • AlaskaHawk

          If Kam doesn’t come back then the Seahawks only have bad choices. Why hold onto the contract of what has become an unuseable player? Better to trade him and make an example out of him, jsut like Percy Harvin.

          Whether the next team will pay him or not is a differerent story that no longer concerns the Seahawks. There is probably some team out there that will pay for a top safety. But the bottom line is that only a handful of teams are superbowl contenders, and unless he is traded to one of them, he will be sent to football purgatory.

      • Alex

        You’re still setting an unfavorable precedent. It’s more about principle and precedent than getting any sort of compensation.

        Also, like JeffC, you’re also incurring dead money for trades. This isn’t the NBA or MLB where the whole contract transfers over. Trades in the NFL have dead money because of the already-paid signing bonus. As a matter of fact, like a release, it actually accelerates the dead money.

        • Phil

          I’m not sure that trading a disgruntled player — like Kam — is setting an unfavorable precedent. Especially when you examine the alternatives. Unless there is more to his argument than we are hearing, I sadly would say adios to Kam, wish him well, and try to get all we can get for him.

          In fact, the only plausible explanantion I can come up with for his behavior is that he wants to be traded.

          What I would not do under any circumstances is give in to his salary/signing bonus “demands”. His actions smack of extortion and it’s hard for me to imagine that he has not already irreversibly damaged his reputation with the Seahawks organization and the 12s.

          • Alex

            The unfavorable precedent is that if you whine and yell, the FO will eventually trade you to a place where you can get the money you like. The action would devalue the existing contract and make the players believe they CAN do something to force the team. Soon enough, someone like Michael Bennett will also be whining and yelling to force the team’s hand. At that point, no one will seriously take the contracts they’ve signed.

            • Phil

              So, what are the better alternatives to trading him? Paying him more? Letting things stand where he is under contract but holding out? I don’t see advantages to either of these alternatives.

              • Tien

                The Seahawks stand firm on their stance of not renegotiating a contract with more than a year left and stay the course on their long-term plan of fielding a competitive/SB contending team each year and we hope that Kam finally sees reason and reports even without any changes in his contract. Even disgruntled, Kam doesn’t seem the type of player who won’t go all out if he was unhappy with the team so would still be the force in the middle of the defense…but then again, I was shocked that he held out in the first place. Kam’s great but he has no leverage here and the Seahawks can’t cave in if they want to manage the cap and plan long-term.

  13. Screeching Hawk

    Hilarious, I just looked up kam on google and ESPN had a bit on his holdout. There was a video and in it showed a pic of Ricardo Lockette. We’ll at least there both Seahawks. Do any of these people proof check anything anymore? Rob Staton you will soon be generously compensated my man! Keep up the fine work$

  14. Screeching Hawk

    RG3 had a concussion in today’s preseason game against the Lions. Is it too late to give Russell more money for being awesome? We are so fortunate!

    • Phil

      I think RG III”s career is just about over. Both McCoy and Cousins did are good job in last night’s game and the Redskins actually looked pretty good when RG III was not in the lineup.

  15. Ed

    PC and JS seem to do well at making these big things, into nothing at all. Lynch/Sherman/Wilson etc… people make a lot of it and it turns into nothing. I hope this is the case again, with Cam coming back after 3rd preseason game. If not, I would say ship him. As Rob points out, we have had to fill in for almost everyone on defense (except Sherman). Next man up

  16. Cysco

    I can’t buy into the injury conspiracy. There’ simply no way he’d be able to keep it secret from the team.

    What I can see being the situation is that he/his agent saw Wagner get paid all that guaranteed money. They convinced themselves that Kam was worth more than he’s getting paid and that the team should do something about that.

    It’s really poor advice/guidance from his agent

    At some point in the next week or two the tone of the front office is going to change. They’ve been very friendly and encouraging with Kam and i’m sure they told him to come back and they’ll wave all the fines and throw him a token increase to save face. At some point the FO is going to have to use some tough love and set a deadline where the fines will be called in. I really hope it doesn’t come to that, but if it does I’d support the front office.

    • JeffC

      Didn’t Percy Harvin get past our team doctors regarding the hip condition?

      • JeffC

        Not offended in the least

        • Screeching Hawk

          Cool JeffC, I appreciate your insight and knowledge on our beloved team. GOooo Hawks. I’m so happy to watch the game tomorrow!!!

      • Volume12

        Yup. Just like Gurley got around the doctors at the combine.

        • AlaskaHawk

          I would want to see him in practice for a couple weeks plus the doctors visit. Percy gamed the Seahawks and Chancellor may be doing it too. It isn’t a good sign that he isn’t talking to the team and coach on a regular basis.

          • Volume12

            Thought I saw somewhere where it said he’s constantly giving the young guys pointers, tips, and helping them out. He’s supposedly been watching every practice and keeping up with schemes and whatnot on his Surface.

  17. oltoobas

    I agree with many comments of the previous contributors. The problem facing Kam is that his popularity with Seahawks fans is not significantly higher than the popularity that John and Pete have with Seahawks fans. The popularity thing being a wash, in my opinion, leaves Kam complaining about receiving a salary that is very high relative to his peers at strong safety. This public relations debate is going to go against Kam. Pete and John are too respected and trusted by the fans. Kam is too financially-vulnerable under the current contract situation; and the Seahawks have too much depth.

    I want Kam back, but I want him to act like an employee and fulfill his duties. He’s getting paid very well in comparison to his Strong Safety peers. Maybe we have to win a few games during the regular season for him to realize that the beat goes on. Kam isn’t fungible. I am not so naive to think that we can just find another Kam Chancellor. I just don’t believe that the strong safety position should be allowed to hijack your defense. I hope he comes back soon and that we welcome him with open arms; but I don’t want John to deviate from his plan with contract negotiation and salary cap management.

    GO HAWKS

  18. Trevor

    This actually the one time I would like Paul Allen to make a statement. Something along the lines of we go out of our way as an organization to treat or players fairly, and with respect. We compensate them to the maximum allowable under the cap and go above and beyond in most cases to take care of our players. In return we expect our players to play hard, be good citizens and adhere to the contract they sign.

    We will not renegotiate contracts with more than one year remaining and going forward all players who hold out will be fined the maximum allowable under the CBA.

    This would take the ball out of PCJS court and set a precedence going forward and end the annual hold out carousel in my opinion.

    • Screeching Hawk

      That would be a compelling statement by Mr. Allen. I’m pretty sure that a billionaire has other things going on, like whatever he wants! He bought me for an hour last month and all I had to do was sing “My little buttercup” for $100 dollars yo. I was desperate!

      • Screeching Hawk

        Pretty sure “The Chancellor ” isn’t.

        • Screeching Hawk

          Sweet little buttercup!

  19. Mylegacy

    We as Hawk’s fans are mostly out of touch with what is happening right before our eyes. Lane, Chancellor, Sherman and Thomas ALL – every one of them – was injured last year. Several played seriously injured against the Pats and couldn’t stop the Pats from coming back from a 10 point deficit. All we hear about is “that pass.” That pass only occurred because we had some of our best and brightest playing seriously injured, in very real pain and with a level of courage and fortitude that I know for a fact I don’t possess. Today – NONE of them is healthy. All of them are not only scarred but still suffering.

    Kam doesn’t see “our Hawks” through our eyes, mind or feelings. He clearly thinks he’d been led to believe his contract was going to be reworked. He’s bled for the team, his teammates AND us fans.

    He’s drawn a line in the sand, when that line is eventually crossed – most likely Kam will lose -as he’ll be the one doing the crossing. The “game/business” of football is a rigged mess outrageously in favor of the billionaires – the players Union has been crushed – the players agreement these days is more like the Japanese surrender than a labor agreement.

    I expect Kam to lose this fight. More’s the pity. If I have to choose Kam or Allen – I choose Kam every second of every day and two times a second on game days.

    Kam, win , lose or draw – I’m in your corner – and proud to be there.

    • Volume12

      I think we’re all in support of Kam, but are just sort of confused and baffled honestly. I can’t speak for everyone, but I expected this from Bennett not Bam Bam. And it has to hurt PC at his core man. Those 2 seem to have a father-son type of connection. The thing about it is, Kam up to this point has been everything this FO wants, needs, and has preached to us they look for in prospects and core players. And yes it’s hard to know from the outside looking in and we never will really know, but he’s put this FO in such a precarious position and appears to have a complete ‘about face,’ it’s kind of like… huh?

      I’m not sure it was the BWagz deal, because at the time I’m not even sure BWagz saw his deal coming on the heels of RW deal, and the rumor of his holdout was a day or two before training camp if I remember right.

      • Volume12

        Should have read appears to have done a complete ‘about face.’

        The 2nd paragraph was in refrence to something else.

      • AlaskaHawk

        In football terms – Kam has made it. He got past his rookie contract, signed a 4 year 28 million dollar contract. He is in a better position then 90% of the guys playing football. I can understand if he wants more guaranteed money. But like any job he has to show up and participate or he won[‘t get paid. Some of those players who were injured were still rookies and will get screwed by the system. Not Kam, he just needs to show up and play 6 games and his money for the year will be in the bank. He needs to pull his head out of his arse and man up.

    • Trevor

      Really you are backing the guy who has made $16 million the last 2 years to play a game of football and now wont honor his contract and go to work because his employer is a billionaire?

      Makes perfect sense to me. Or not!

      I guess all of us working for a $100k a year at a job that is is physically demanding say like on a oil rig for a company with a rich owner should just stop going to work the second they don’t feel they are being paid enough. Oh wait sorry we can’t afford to because we haven’t made $16 million the last two years and would be fired if we did.

      The billionaire owner provides the facilities, finances and system that has allowed all these players to become multi-millionaires playing a game. Without the rich owners there is no league and these guys have regular jobs like the rest of us. The reason why capitalism works is the rich create opportunity and jobs for everyone else.

      Sorry for the rant but when I hear people complain about the CBA the players agreed to which results in them getting over 50% of all revenue and then complaining about billionaire owners taking advantage of guys making millions a year it is laughable. I assure the company you work for is not paying 50% of revenues to its employees.

    • JeffC

      I guess I don’t understand the Kam vs Paul Allen point. I’m sure if Paul Allen could, he would probably love to give Kam a raise.

      If Kam wants to make a statement that the CBA is a horrible deal, it’s his right to do so. But in doing so it would be fair of him to also state that the negotiators of the NFLPA betrayed the players, and I doubt that happens.

      • Trevor

        It is not Kam vs Paul Allen. It is Seahawks players that hold out vs the organization. (Beast Mode Last year, Kam this year and likely Bennett next year) He is the owner and all policy flows down from him. I am sue Allen loves Kam like the rest of us and probably more.

        Explain to me how the NFLPA betrayed the players when they get 55% of all revenues? Please tell me another industry where that is the case?

        I agree guaranteed contracts would be better but in return for the increased risk the teams would be taking would then be willing to take less of the revenue pie? I doubt it.

        The bottom line is if the contracts are guaranteed or not the players get 55% of all revenues. If one player gets cut / released another gets signed or extension with salary increase. The PIE is still the same only the pieces are different.

  20. Screeching Hawk

    Profoundly well spoken “Mylegacy” I’m with you on your statement!

  21. Screeching Hawk

    Volume12 is da bomb!!! Don’t you know it. Where are you home boy?

  22. Screeching Hawk

    Is it cool if I talk about my feelings and psychological issues on this blog, for I don’t comment on any other sites apart from youtube. I am a music lover also. Psyche, there’s no crying in football. Go team!

  23. JC

    There’s been some idea that the Seahawks stance here is somewhat unusual. I’m unaware of any contract with 3 years remaining being reworked aside from a move to clear cap space a player might agree to to land a big free agent. If you look at Kam’s stats the 2 years prior to the contract and the 2 years that followed, they are remarkably similar. There is no statistical breakout that argues for a reworked deal, though there could be PFF/advanced stats that argue in Kam’s favor. Contrast that with Antonio Brown, one of the few players in the league who pondered a holdout, who reported to camp and still isn’t getting a new deal while statistically outperforming the years prior to the contract.

  24. Volume12

    Does anyone know if KPL and Simon will play tonight? I’m kind of doubting Simon will, but curious nonetheless.

    • Rob Staton

      I think there’s a pretty good chance KPL plays. Simon is getting close.

      • Volume12

        Thanks man. Always nice to hear from ya.

        • Daniel

          from what i hear simon is getting significantly better but still has a 0% chance of playing

  25. Volume12

    Defensively I’m really looking forward to S Dion Bailey as mentioned earlier, along with CB Tye Smith, DE Cassius Marsh, and DL Frank Clark. Not sure Frank plays tonight though. Think he’s been getting some rest/off-days. DT T.Y. McGill also flashed on my screen last week and he could be a good one going forward.

    Offensively the obvious one is LG Justin Britt, RT Garry Gilliam, and C Drew Nowak. Excited about the changes there. But the other ones are HB Thomas Rawls, not flashy, but a potentially solid 3rd back. And my interest is piqued in QB Jake Waters. WR/OW BJ Daniels too. Could he be another ‘Slash’ or Antwan Randle-El (sorry for dropping that name)?

    And how cool would it be to see WR Tyler Lockett flip the field a couple times in his old man’s former place of employment.

  26. WS

    Kam is supposed to be getting guaranteed $4.5M this year, which does indeed make him either #1 or #2 in pay for his position.

    I do not believe he is injured… Unless he did it recently and outside of football activities. That’s the strange part of this. I keep seeing people post about how many players played hurt in the Super Bowl, as did Kam, so pay them more or something…. Uh, doesn’t work that way. And why in the world are you assuming the Patriots didn’t have players playing hurt? EVERY TEAM DOES. Out of the injuries, Kam’s was the least significant and suffered in warm-ups right before the game. THIS is what I find odd: He participated in all activities except training camp, and very emphatically stated in interviews that this year is the first year he has been 100% healthy going into the season, and that he couldn’t wait to get started. HE NEVER MENTIONED INJURY – the opposite – AND NEVER MENTIONED CONTRACT ISSUE either.
    Meanwhile, M. Bennett complains about his contract, but he shows up and plays – that is the way to handle this kind of dispute. A hold-out has no power in the situation Kam is in, with multiple years left, little cap room this year, and high pay for his position that is also all guaranteed money this season. He needs to come back now, and if the cap is raised next year they will take care of him.
    OTHERWISE KAM IS FORCING THEM TO LOOK AT OPTIONS LIKE RELEASE MEBANE TO PAY HIM. Mebane is making similar $ and he said in recent radio interview that the hawks front office asked if he would be willing to rework his contract to lower hit against cap this season and he answered No.

    None of this behavior is worthy of a team captain, which I believe Kam is….

    If you have a beef with the front office, bring it up way before camp starts. It is too late now. All you have done is put everyone in a bad position, and when you put your Boss in a bad position – and make no bones about it, Coach and GM are his bosses, then bad things will result.

    But what is killing me is this bad view, which must be coming via bad info from an agent that has made a big mistake, is that Kam has to see the math at this point: HE CANNOT MAKE MORE WITHOUT SEVERELY AFFECTING THE TEAM and not just for this season, but for many to come. Contract that with Russell, who was never going to hold out – he just wanted it all decided before camp started so they could focus on playing. He’d play for the 1.5M and deal with it later. M. Bennett same thing. Kam? Big mistake instead.

    BTW – What happens if Kam’s little brother makes the team as safety in his place? The only wacky conspiracy I can come up with that makes sense is he is giving his brother more playing time, but that’s not working out either with multiple people on the depth chart about him. Marshawn’s cousin is also one of the rookie safeties trying to make the team. Seems like one them will know how to lay a hit Bam Bam style…… And I do think Pinkins was originally pegged to backup Kam with Jeron leaving town, but he came back bigger and they want to use him as LB. PC has referred to him as the faster LB on the field. But he was a DB and Safety combo at SDSU, so he could be Kam replacement also given more playing time. Actually, read old stories and posts from Pinkins, and he’ll tell you they expected Bailey and Pnkins to be the backup safeties this year.

  27. Chris

    Since Kam is no longer useful as a player to the Seahawk organization, it’s time for him to play a different, and perhaps even more useful role.

    The Seahawks have paid for being lax with players over the last few years. They give an inch, and their ungrateful players, like Kam and Bennet, take a yard.

    It’s time to enforce all fines, past and present. No bargaining or figuring out ways to “move” money around. No forgiving past actions. Until Kam shows up, he’s dead to me. I think the Seahawks should hold him, and any other player, responsible for every single dime of fines they given up in their quest to hurt the organization.

  28. CC

    I love Kam, but it is hard for me to support what he is doing. I understand what he wants and what he thinks he deserves, but like most of us those two things don’t always work out.

    I look at it like this – until Kam shows up – he’s like on injured and we play on. He is only 2 years in on his deal – the Seahawks cannot give him a new deal. Kam, if that is the way you want to play it, I get it – but I disagree with it – and of course that and bus fare get me downtown.

  29. J Ball

    Kam holding out is an absolute kick in the face to Seattle, and this team. I wouldn’t pay him another dime, and if he wants to hold out..? then let him, let him sit at home and lose millions of dollars. Take his signing bonus, and every game check. I would do this until his contract has expired, and then give him a pat on the arse, and bid him farewell, with a comment of “did you enjoy ruining your career”..!!

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