This is a guest article written by Curtis Allen
Winning his second Super Bowl with a new coach and completely remade roster surely has cemented John Schneider’s place among the all-time great General Managers in the NFL.
There are several ways he has done it, but I wanted to discuss what he has done over the years at the game’s toughest position.
Schneider has guided the Seahawks through several different iterations at Quarterback. He has left no stone unturned and been able to find success in the most unconventional of places.
It is true that not every single move he has made at Quarterback has been an absolutely smashing success. But when you look across the landscape of the NFL, the league is scrambling to keep up with John Schneider’s thought processes. And when they decide not to, they are often stuck with extremely thorny challenges that can inhibit their entire roster while the Seahawks take advantage of market inefficiencies.
How has Schneider done it? In a word: guts.
He has not been afraid to cut against the grain. To forge an unconventional path that might not ultimately lead to success. The moves he has made carried the potential to cost the franchise opportunity, money and draft picks.
But in doing so – and doing it extremely well – he has blazed a trail that many have tried to emulate.
Let us briefly count the ways.
The Russell Wilson Four Pack
First, the selection of Russell Wilson in the Third Round of the draft.
Schneider and Pete Carroll had been stirring the pot at the position prior to April 2012. Matt Hasselbeck, Seneca Wallace and Charlie Whitehurst had been moved on from. Tarvaris Jackson was with the organization and Schneider moved to sign Matt Flynn to a 3-year contract with good guaranteed money in a move reminiscent of years earlier, when Hasselbeck was brought in from the Packers to be the starter for Mike Holmgren.
The team appeared rather settled at the position. And yet there was something about this Quarterback from Wisconsin. He was short, but not small. He was thickly built and had huge hands. The arm was NFL caliber and he had a knack for leadership and clutch play. He had transferred to Wisconsin and almost immediately took charge of the team. His legs and his never say die attitude propelled him onto teams’ draft boards. The Seahawks were sold and after some tense waiting to the Third Round, they pounced.
We know how that worked out. But think for a moment how that was received in NFL circles. Mel Kiper was incredulous and sparred with John Gruden on the broadcast about the pick. Time and again, analysts pointed out how few sub-6-foot Quarterbacks were successful.
It was talked about as a wasted pick. Some saw it as an attempt to get a ‘running quarterback gadget-type’ player, a guy who would occasionally sub in with a package and try to turn defenses on their ear, but with the expensive price of a Third-Round pick.
Then there was the depth argument. The Seahawks had many other needs and here they were picking a guy who at best would be a developmental prospect behind Jackson and Flynn.
Schneider saw something completely different: A mobile Quarterback with tremendous work ethic and leadership qualities. A player who made use of every talent he had in his toolbox. And someone who could complement the tough, soul-crushing defense and punishing running game they were building.
Selecting him was just the first step. Teams select Quarterbacks beyond the first two rounds all the time. What Schneider and Pete Carroll did next truly set them apart.
Second, the Seahawks gave the rookie Wilson the keys to the team.
Over the course of the summer, it had become clear to the team that they may really have something in Wilson. His ‘first guy in, last guy out’ approach, his coachability and his skill in putting everything together on the field coalesced quickly.
In the preseason, Wilson looked fantastic. The Seahawks played him in the second half of the first two games and playing with the third and fourth-string players, Wilson stood out. He ran the offense well, made good decisions and used his legs to keep plays alive and his arm to find receivers downfield.
By the time Pete Carroll announced he would start Week Three of the preseason against the Chiefs, something was brewing. This exciting young rookie had played well against backups. How would he gel with the starters, playing against Kansas City’s starters? He was masterful.
Now, here is where Schneider and the Seahawks distinguished themselves.
Do they give the job to this rookie? Or do they take the conventional route and stick with their $26 million veteran Quarterback, who himself had sat behind a veteran for years and was deemed ready to start? Does their commitment to Flynn overwhelm the evidence right in front of them?
No. They choose Wilson to start and you know how it went.
Think about this in the moment. Schneider and Carroll are on the same page. Now they have to go upstairs and tell the owner, who has just written a very healthy check for Flynn, that they want to bench him in favor of this short, not highly-rated rookie.
Very many General Managers would have urged their Head Coach to commit to the player that was the presumptive starter – the guy whom he had scouted, drafted in Green Bay, signed as a Free Agent and paid a handsome salary to. We see this often in the NFL. Everybody knows the team should go with the younger, more projectible player as the starter. And yet teams doggedly try to justify the resources they committed by playing the player who is not superior but more handsomely paid.
They made the hard but correct choice.
Wilson led the Seahawks to an 11-5 record and a Wild Card spot. They beat Washington on their home field and then went to Atlanta and nearly upset the Falcons.
The stage was set for a franchise-altering season in 2013.
But one more thing was needed. Which leads us to the next way that Schneider cut a new path through the NFL.
Third, the Seahawks pioneered the “rookie Quarterback” method of building a contender.
Having found their Franchise Quarterback in the most unexpected of places, the Seahawks in 2013 moved to trade Flynn to the Raiders and bring Tarvaris Jackson back to be the #2.
In doing so, the Seahawks set in motion a tactic that has dominated fan imaginations and has General Managers chasing the easiest, quickest way to contention: Having a starting Quarterback on a rookie salary. The game’s most expensive position being capped by a rookie salary structure is like a cheat code. An easy way to contention if there ever was one.
For a moment, let us go back to 2010, two years before Wilson was drafted. This was the last draft without a rookie cap.
Sam Bradford was the #1 overall pick and signed a 5-year $65 million contract with the Rams.
That is $13 million per season. Current two-time MVP and three-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady was at that time making less than Bradford at $12 million. The financial burden teams with the #1 overall pick were bearing was getting out of hand.
In 2011, the rookie salary cap was implemented.
In 2012, #1 overall pick Andrew Luck signed a 4-year $22 million contract. The rookie Quarterback salary got slashed to an average of $5.5 million per season.
Russell Wilson – drafted in the Third Round – signed a 4-year $2.99 million contract.
Bradford’s contract had $35 million in bonuses. He had more ten times more money in his pocket before suiting up one time for practice than Wilson had in the entirely of his contract.
Schneider took advantage, striking like lightning in 2013 to sign Defensive Line depth in Cliff Avril and Michael Bennett. The one thing this big, tough, powerful defense was missing was a fearsome pass rush. Not having been saddled with a huge expense at the position like other teams, Schneider was able to target his cap dollars wisely to build out the rest of his team.
After winning the Super Bowl in this manner, the NFL would witness a number of teams following the Seahawks’ model: Philadelphia (Wentz), Los Angeles (Goff), Kansas City (Mahomes) and Cincinnati (Burrow) would all field Super Bowl teams with Quarterbacks on extremely affordable rookie salaries.
While the rest of the NFL was in a hurry trying to catch up, Schneider was working on his next move.
Fourth, Schneider sold high on his Franchise Quarterback.
Unable to get Wilson to want to stay in Seattle, Schneider set about getting the best trade for the team that he could. The return was tremendous. Two First-Round picks, Two Seconds, Drew Lock and Shelby Harris.
He accomplished what fans dream of and General Managers fear as much as death: Trading a hugely popular player and a Super Bowl champion for a massive, team-rebuilding haul while Wilson was still near the top of his game.
Wilson was 32 years old. He was frustrated with the Seahawks and desired a change. The Broncos had just signed a new Head Coach and were gearing up for a change in ownership. They paid the price to bring in a player they hoped would lead them to a new renaissance.
Meanwhile, John Schneider was busy scouting and using those picks to restock a depleted roster that had lost its way.
It is not an exaggeration to say the Seahawks would not be lifting the Lombardi trophy last week had it not been for this trade. Charles Cross, Boye Mafe and Devon Witherspoon (along with all the key players paid or brought in by cap space made available by trading Wilson) all were heavy contributors to the smashing success of the 2025 season.
Geno Smith: Navigating the Post-Russell Wilson Era
Trading Wilson set the Seahawks on the search for their next Quarterback. It put tremendous pressure on Schneider to ‘step on the gas’ to find his next great passer.
He had Drew Lock, a talented but flawed prospect. He moved to bring Geno Smith back into the fold on an extremely modest 1-year $3.5 million contract with an additional $3.5 million in incentives.
This was a strong move for several reasons, not the least of which is it removed the element of desperation to draft a Quarterback he did not rate in the upcoming draft. It was a weak class and despite strong media and fan pressure to take one, he resisted.
His instincts were not wrong. No one passer from that class has emerged as a long-term starter, let alone a player you could build around.
Schneider focused on building his roster with his picks and what a class he delivered: Cross, Mafe, Walker, Lucas, Woolen, Bryant and Young. Schneider tapped into the depth of the draft and profoundly impacted his roster by ignoring the gravitational pull of drafting a Quarterback he did not view as worthy.
Just to illustrate the path not taken, the Pittsburgh Steelers selected Kenny Pickett #20 overall. He lasted two seasons before being traded to the Eagles.
Look at the pool the Steelers could have selected from if they had decided to pass on Pickett:
Oof. Talk about opportunity cost. The next ten picks are mostly guys that scream ‘I am a Steeler’ and would have fit very nicely on their roster.
By contrast, Schneider had maximized his trove of picks and set this team on a whole new course.
Then something strange happened. Something strange and – if we are being honest – unexpected by everyone, including Schneider.
Geno Smith had a fantastic season, delivering 30 touchdowns against 11 interceptions with a 69.8% completion rate (best in the NFL) while leading the team to a playoff appearance. The Seahawks knew better than others that Smith was good. But this good?
It served to emphasize another core principle in developing a successful Quarterback: It is not just about him, but the roster. In previous stops, Smith had never had as talented a roster as the one Schneider was building.
The league sat up and took notice. Suddenly, needy teams were looking around the league for the ‘next Geno Smith’, a talented player who might just need a shot on the right team after some early-career struggles.
Tampa Bay for instance. In the 2023 offseason, Tom Brady had retired and they still had a very solid roster but needed a passer. They signed Baker Mayfield to a minuscule $4 million contract and he delivered 28 touchdowns against only 10 interceptions in leading the Buccaneers back to the playoffs.
For the Seahawks though, the next challenge was presented: Smith was a Free Agent following that terrific season and had earned a substantial raise. There was an issue, though: Smith had started the season red hot, delivering a performance through ten games that garnered some league MVP talk. He then cooled significantly, taking more sacks, throwing more interceptions and his accuracy rate dropped significantly.
Had the league ‘figured him out’ after getting a few games on tape? Which Smith would they get in future seasons?
And would they be able to agree to a contract that reflected those concerns?
At that time, the Quarterback market had exploded. Wilson had signed an extension with the Broncos worth $49 million per season. Lamar Jackson and Jalen Hurts would top the $50 million barrier in April.
In one season, Smith had played as arguably well as many who were getting that level of money. Yet the unknown of one good season against the potential of a regression presented real concerns, as did Smith’s age. He was peaking as most NFL Quarterbacks were starting to wind down their careers.
Again, media pressure was building. Smith had waited patiently for his opportunity for years. He had finally gotten it and produced. Many felt he deserved a contract commensurate with what others were getting.
Schneider needed to thread the needle. To find a way to recognize Smith’s contributions to the team while protecting the salary cap from a significant regression.
What he came up with in negotiation with Smith and his agent was unique and successful: a 3-year, $75 million contract with only $27.3 million fully guaranteed. He also was able to hedge against a drop in performance, by working in $30 million worth of ‘escalators.’
Smith was paid $25 million per season – the very bottom of the veteran starting QB market – but had options to increase that to $35 million per season by matching a set of statistics based on his 2022 season.
It was unusual, balanced and reasonable in the face of an insane market. It allowed the Seahawks flexibility to continue building their roster up.
The league took notice. Smith’s deal modeled an extension between Mayfield and the Buccaneers. The next year, they agreed to a 3-year $100 million contract that accomplished the same things Smith’s did: rewarding great play on a dime while balancing the risk of a regression.
The Seahawks contract with Smith was prescient. He was not able to match his 2022 the following season and the Seahawks missed the playoffs.
At the same time, Schneider owned the #5 pick in the 2023 draft. One with potential picks Bryce Young, C.J. Stroud, Anthony Richardson and Will Levis. With the first three off the board at #5 and Levis still available at #20, Schneider stuck to his analysis and did not reach for Levis. He secured two absolute cornerstone players in Devon Witherspoon and Jaxon Smith-Njigba. Again, he was not going to let the tail wag the dog when it came to Quarterbacks.
But the market continued to rage on. The Cowboys sent shockwaves around the league by agreeing to pay Dak Prescott a whopping $60 million per season in 2024. Smith was earning less than half that number as a veteran starter.
Smith attempted to get the Seahawks to rework his contract in September of 2024, staging an under-the-radar holdout of sorts, feigning injury and missing practices. Schneider and the team were in another difficult spot.
The hard truth was he had not been able to live up to the promise of his 2022 season. Age was becoming a factor, as were locker room and team leadership concerns. A big raise was just not a wise decision at the time.
Schneider held firm. The organization would not renegotiate a contract with two full years remaining. Smith felt he had buyer’s remorse and the Seahawks had achieved exactly what they wanted in the contract: protection from a regression.
In 2024, Smith rebounded to a degree and earned $6 million in escalators. He had one year left on his contract. It was time to talk about an extension.
Smith was about to enter his age 35 season and felt he had earned a big raise. Schneider and the Seahawks did not agree.
Complicating matters was a deadline: Smith was due $16 million in non-guaranteed bonus money in March. Options and flexibility would decrease measurably if Schneider let the contract stay as is beyond that vesting date.
If there was a trade market for Smith, the league would have every right in trying to wait the Seahawks out. The closer they got to that bonus triggering, the lower the Seahawks’ leverage in any trade talks would get.
How would Schneider handle this?
2025: Another Master Stroke
Schneider set about determining Smith’s market value. He gathered intel from around the league at the Scouting Combine and worked with his front office. They came up with a number that would work with them. They decided that ‘that is just what you have to pay a Quarterback now’ was not a reasonable argument to spend more than what they were willing on Smith.
However, in the runup to these negotiations, Schneider had done his homework about other options at the position. “Pivot” would become his new catchphrase. Given Smith’s unhappiness with his contract the prior season, his age and his emotional outbursts during games, Schneider directed his team to be ready for these negotiations to be difficult. They would need to have ready-made plans in place should Smith’s team want to play hardball in negotiations.
That proved to be very shrewd.
He made his extension offer. And as the clocked ticked down towards the beginning of the new league year and Smith’s $16 million bonus locking in, the phone was not ringing. Smith’s team had decided to not even try to negotiate with Schneider. They were playing the long game, knowing that the bonus coming was a deadline of sorts and felt that Schneider would be the first to blink.
The Raiders called. Their new Head Coach was Smith’s biggest advocate by far and they needed a Quarterback. And so, a deal was struck: The Seahawks would send the 35-year-old Smith with his contract as is to Las Vegas in return for a Third-Round pick. The Seahawks would gain $31 million in salary cap room and a solid draft pick, but now needed to replace Smith.
You know how all this worked out. Sam Darnold, Super Bowl.
But consider again Schneider’s actions in the moment. He was not willing to trade the comfort and continuity of keeping a Quarterback that wanted more pay than what he was willing to give. He drew his line in the sand and refused to cross it.
Taking a stand like this usually comes with a cost. A big one. You just accept a sunk cost and move on.
Consider an alternate universe where the Raiders never called. Smith had gone silent in negotiations and the clock was ticking.
An argument could be made that Seattle would have still signed Darnold and then put Smith on the trading block for whatever they could get. And failing that, would have simply cut Smith before the bonus vested and saved $31 million in cap space. It would accomplish the same thing that actually happened, just without the draft pick in return.
Yet Schneider was able to talk the Raiders into eating that entire $16 million bonus that was due in a few days and give Seattle a pick for the privilege.
He then moved quickly to secure Sam Darnold – again, at a price at the very bottom of the veteran starting Quarterback market – and was able to build a team around him with the prodigious amount of cap saved by trading Smith.
The response to this series of moves was mixed at best. Analysts panned the move, unable to grasp that John Schneider had – just three seasons prior – scored a major victory by reclaiming an undervalued Quarterback asset and got a huge return for pennies on the dollar.
Many fans were also upset. Geno Smith – a natural successor to the ‘we all we got/we all we need’ underdog mentality of the Legion of Boom players – was just as much a local folk hero as he was a football player. His contrary nature and prodigious talent struck a deep chord with fans and moving on from him felt like a betrayal of that thought process.
Meanwhile, the league was surprisingly lukewarm on Sam Darnold. After a brilliant season that ended with great difficulty, the Vikings unsurprisingly did not Franchise Tag him, but they did apparently offer him a healthy contract.
The Raiders decided not to pursue him and instead focused their efforts on trading for Matthew Stafford and then Geno Smith. Other teams were rumored but none staked a claim and most shrugged when news of a contract with Seattle broke.
Teams were not lining up to pay Darnold unreal money as many thought they would. The Vikings liked him, but were trying to sign him while keeping the door open for J.J. McCarthy to earn the starting job.
The specter of the way his season ended drove his value down – and right into the Seahawks’ waiting arms. Darnold had familiarity with Klint Kubiak’s system and desired a job unburdened from looking over his shoulder.
Schneider had found a better fit for his team ethos, a supremely talented younger player he could potentially work with for two or three contracts and at a price still at the very bottom of the market. That is the Triple Crown of positives General Managers need to be successful.
And now, his latest Quarterback discovery sits at the bottom of the pay scale for veteran players, having accomplished more than nearly everyone above him.
Sam Darnold sits in a class of Quarterback not unlike Jared Goff, Brock Purdy, Jalen Hurts and Jordan Love: players who are not otherworldly talented and can singlehandedly deliver a win every single week. Rather, they are players who are the ‘final piece of the puzzle’, ones who tie the team together and make the offense run smoothly, while occasionally taking a game over in the clutch.
Only, he is making about 60% of what those players are making, freeing his team to keep adding more talent.
So, while teams like the Dolphins, Cardinals, Cowboys, Browns and even the Raiders scramble to manage passers their cap and roster with massively overpriced QB contracts, Schneider sits, with a second Lombardi trophy on his desk and three Quarterbacks he likes on his roster. A fine testament to the work he has done in the last 16 years.
What Does the Future Hold?
Due to his acumen, Schneider has a multitude of options.
Starting at the back end of the roster, the Seahawks have a project in Jalen Milroe. After a handful of disappointing package plays early on, the team essentially benched him and made him the Emergency Quarterback most weeks. We do not know how Milroe has developed during the season.
But Schneider does. Has the coaching staff been able to take his tremendous talent and personality and mold him into a player? Might it take a couple of seasons to mold him into a starter?
It is possible. It is also possible that the team may have taken a shot with the ‘bonus pick’ they got from the Geno Smith trade and in the next season or two, could be ready to move on.
Backup Drew Lock returns on the roster with an eminently flexible contract: He is owed $2.25 million in non-guaranteed salary for 2026.
And Darnold. How will he and his agent react to winning the Super Bowl? Time will tell. It is possible there are conversations happening right now on a reworking. His cap hit stands at a reasonable $37.9 million for 2026, with much potential to restructure it to push some cap hit into the future should Schneider deem it necessary (perhaps to talk trade with the Raiders once more?).
The search for undervalued assets will not stop simply because the team is the reigning champions. Schneider’s job will enter that next phase, just as it did with Geno Smith and Russell Wilson. Chasing edges. Finding value and exploiting his fellow General Managers’ flawed decision-making about the position.
Perhaps this year, it will be working with Darnold on his contract. Or promoting Milroe to the backup job. Or finding another prospect in the draft pool he can work with.
It could even be exploring the marketplace for a young veteran player like Richardson or Levis – a talented guy who has gotten off track and needs a breath of fresh air.
All options are on the table.
And given John Schneider’s track record, we should let him work and anticipate the fruits of his labor as he takes this team into another bright, starry future.
