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# Finding Sweet Spot For Geno Smith, Seahawks Extension
- URL: https://www.emeraldcityspectrum.com/finding-sweet-spot-for-geno-smith-seahawks-extension/
- Published: 2025-02-20T14:30:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-08T06:00:40.000Z
- Author: Corbin Smith
- Tags: Seahawks, Geno Smith

\[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="900"\]

![  Seattle Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith warms up during training camp at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center. Credit: Corbin Smith/Emerald City Spectrum  ](https://storage.ghost.io/c/1d/f2/1df2f77b-83dd-4bc0-a6d2-6d1bb5df89a3/content/images/2026/10/geno-smith-format-original-1.png)

Seattle Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith warms up during training camp at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center. Credit: Corbin Smith/Emerald City Spectrum \[/caption\]

Still sitting over the cap with less than a month until the start of free agency, the Seattle Seahawks will have several difficult roster-related decisions to make over the next few weeks as they aim to both create financial flexibility and fortify their roster for 2025 and beyond.

Among the players whose future with the franchise could be dictated in coming weeks, the Seahawks have to figure out their plans for starting quarterback Geno Smith, who will be entering the final year of his current contract with a bloated $44.5 million cap hit thanks to hitting three contract escalators worth a total of $6 million last season. Those payouts will be included as part of the signal caller’s non-prorated bonus, which ballooned to $16.5 million, giving him the eighth-largest cap hit among quarterbacks for next season.

Up to this point, despite Smith seeing a statistical dip in his third year as the starter with 21 touchdowns and 15 interceptions, head coach Mike Macdonald has publicly come to bat supporting the veteran as his starting quarterback, reiterating his confidence in the two-time Pro Bowler and former Comeback Player of the Year winner being able to lead Seattle back into contention on several occasions this offseason.

Most recently, in his most definitive statement on the quarterback’s future yet, Macdonald told Aaron Levine of Fox 13 Seattle earlier this month that he has no doubt the Seahawks can win a Super Bowl with Smith under center, scoffing at the notion that the franchise would go a different direction at the most important position in professional sports.

“Yeah. Heck yeah, man,” Macdonald said of Smith’s ability to guide the Seahawks to a Lombardi Trophy. “Geno’s our quarterback, I don’t understand the conversation. It’s pretty obvious this guy’s a heck of a quarterback, he’s our quarterback, we love him. Can’t wait to go to work with him.”

While some may view Macdonald’s remarks as pure mid-February offseason coach speak, he hasn’t been the only one to gush about the opportunity to work with Smith in recent weeks, as newly-hired offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak called the quarterback a “huge draw” for taking the play calling gig in Seattle in his introductory press conference. His endorsement shouldn’t come as a surprise given the fact he found great success with a similarly-skilled veteran pocket passer in Kirk Cousins Minnesota back in 2021, as the gunslinger threw 33 touchdown passes that year in his offense.

Gaining respect for Smith from afar for overcoming adversity to re-emerge as a quality starting quarterback in the league after several seasons bouncing around as a backup, Kubiak cited his toughness and clutch gene as prime reasons he’s excited to coach the veteran.

“I think Geno is tough as nails,” Kubiak said. “He’s the guy that gets the ball in the fourth quarter and goes and wins football games, so that excites me. It fires me up. I’ve watched his career - studied him more now than I ever have before - but think about a guy who has been through a lot of adversity that’s been knocked off the high horse and had to claw his way back up to a starter’s role, then comes back the last two years and wins more games in the fourth quarter than anybody in the NFL. That’s a guy I want to coach.”

With Macdonald and Kubiak squarely in Smith’s corner, an extension for the quarterback now seems like a matter of when, not if. What remains to be seen, however, is how the Seahawks plan to approach negotiating a new contract with a player who has not been able to quite replicate his breakout numbers from 2022 over the past two years and will turn 35 years old during the 2025 season, two factors that certainly could complicate the process.

When Smith and Seattle inked a three-year contract in March 2023, the deal proved to be quite the bargain, as his base $25 million per year salary ranked last among established starters that weren’t on rookie contracts. The quarterback did the franchise a solid by accepting an incentive-laden deal, betting on himself to an extent to prove that his breakthrough campaign wasn’t a fluke.

Two years later, even considering some of Smith’s numbers have not been as prolific since signing the contract, including throwing fewer than 21 touchdowns each of the previous two seasons, he may not have interest in signing another team-friendly extension this time around with other quarterbacks of similar talent level landing mega deals during that time period.

Since Smith signed the dotted line, the Jaguars handed Trevor Lawrence a $275 million contract, the Dolphins paid oft-injured Tua Tagovailoa $212 million, and the Packers invested a $220 million deal in Jordan Love after just one year as a starter. All three of those players signed extensions worth at least $53 million per year, more than double Smith’s contractual value.

Comparing those four players, Smith has thrown for more passing yards (7,944) than his younger contemporaries, ranks second in completion rate behind Tagovailoa, and has led more fourth quarter comebacks. He also has ran for the second most yards while averaging 4.7 yards per carry. On the flip side, his 41 touchdown passes during that span ranks third in the quartet ahead of only Lawrence and he has thrown the most interceptions (24), in part due to attempting the most passes of the group, as his 2.2 percent interception rate is tied with Lawrence and Tagovailoa.

Statistically, Smith stacks up quite favorably with Lawrence, Tagovailoa, and Love, giving him and his agent a case for a significant pay raise. But what inevitably will hurt him in negotiations is the fact that he’s close to 10 years older than those other three quarterbacks, who all have yet to reach their 27th birthday.

Given his age, the Seahawks won’t be rushing to pony up $50-plus million dollars to re-sign Smith on a two or three-year extension. Instead, the ideal starting point for contract discussions likely will be in the ballpark of Buccaneers starter Baker Mayfield and Saints quarterback Derek Carr, who currently are on deals worth $33 and $37 million per year respectively.

Reviving his career in Tampa Bay, Mayfield leads most major passing categories in comparison to Smith and Carr, including tossing 69 touchdown passes and throwing for over 8,500 yards over the past two seasons. But Smith stacks up well against him across the board, posting a near-identical completion percentage, yards per pass attempt, and interception rate, while most of his statistics have been superior to Carr.

If there’s a clear case for Smith to push for north of $40 million per year annually, his agent should look no further than a fellow NFC West quarterback in Cardinals starter Kyler Murray. The former No. 1 pick ranks 10th among quarterbacks averaging $46.1 million per year on his current contract, but he has not been near as effective of a passer as his veteran counterpart, who has thrown 10 more touchdowns, nearly 2,500 more passing yards, and almost a half yard more per pass attempt over the past two years.

Keeping all of those contracts in mind, it would be a stunner if Seattle invested $45 million or more per year in locking up Smith for the next couple of seasons, and his advancing age likely would stop other teams from making such a deal if he were to hit free agency, at least not without a heavy load of incentives baked into the contract. He most certainly won’t be receiving a contract on par with Love or Lawrence, two significantly younger players with far more upside at this stage of their careers.

With that said, without any viable alternatives in free agency or the draft that would represent an upgrade, a strong argument can be made for Smith to be in the same ballpark as Rams standout Matthew Stafford at $40 million per year, a value that other suitors needing a signal caller wouldn’t bat an eye at paying. Somewhere between Mayfield and Stafford’s contracts should represent the ideal compensation for both motivated parties to strike a deal, giving the Seahawks immediate cap relief in the present while solidifying their quarterback situation for at least a couple more seasons as they look for an eventual heir apparent.