Seahawks Face Complicated Decision Regarding Boye Mafe’s Future

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Seattle Seahawks outside linebacker Boye Mafe chats with teammate Derick Hall in between drills at mandatory minicamp. Credit: Corbin Smith/Emerald City Spectrum [/caption]

Over the course of three seasons with the Seattle Seahawks, there’s no question Boye Mafe has improved across the board, transforming from a somewhat raw situational reserve as a rookie into a viable all-around 3-4 outside linebacker.

In his first season in the Pacific Northwest, Mafe often struggled to see the field, playing on just 37 percent of Seattle’s defensive snaps while contributing three sacks and four quarterback hits. But he took on a significantly larger role jumping into the lineup full time as a sophomore, nearly hitting double digits with nine sacks and nine tackles for loss starting 16 out of 17 games.

Though he wasn’t as productive in the sack category in 2024, Mafe still had 47 quarterback pressures and finished with a stellar 77.8 run defense grade from Pro Football Focus, taking another step forward in his development. Adding in his two swatted passes and a forced fumble that led to a touchdown return for teammate Derick Hall, he had another fine season adjusting to coach Mike Macdonald’s defense.

But as Mafe enters the final year of his rookie contract, playing a premium position that gets paid as such, has the former Minnesota standout done enough to warrant a major multi-year contractual investment from the Seahawks? And should he be a priority for general manager John Schneider to lock up before the start of the 2025 season rather than waiting it out until next spring?

Statistically, in many ways, it can be argued Mafe’s productivity has been more than adequate enough to receive a lucrative extension. Per PFF charting, he has ranked in the top 30 among edge rushers in pressures each of the past two seasons and he ranked fourth in swatted passes in 2023. Though he took a step back in pass rush win rate in 2024, he also ranked in the top 30 in that category in the previous season, showcasing his improving efficiency turning up the heat on opposing quarterbacks.

Surprisingly, Mafe has been a stout edge setter against the run for the Seahawks, vastly exceeding initial expectations after coming into the NFL with a reputation for being more polished as a pass rusher. In two of his three seasons, he has scored north of 72.0 via PFF grades, including ranking ninth among qualified edge defenders last season and missing just one tackle as a run defender in 15 games.

Compared to the rest of the league, according to Pro Football Reference, Mafe qualifies as one of only 22 edge defenders to produce at least 15 sacks and 28 quarterback hits since the start of the 2023 season. Excluding five players who turned 30 years old during that time, of the 17 remaining players on that list, 10 of them have received a multi-year contract in the past two years and the other seven players, including Mafe, remain on rookie contracts ready for their turn to cash in.

From that exclusive group, five players under the age of 29 - Brian Burns, Montez Sweat, Jonathan Greenard, Harold Landry, and Jonathan Cooper - have signed multi-year contracts worth at least $13.5 million per year. Though Mafe has the fewest sacks and quarterback hits of the group over the past two seasons, he does have more pressures than Landry or Burns - whose contract nets more than $28 million per year - and he’s not far behind Sweat and Cooper.

Of course, context always matters. Burns earned his market-setting deal with the Giants after a 12.5-sack, 22-quarterback hit season in 2022 with the Panthers, and he has been remarkably consistent with at least eight sacks in each of the previous five seasons. Sweat also set up a date with the Brinks truck for a big pay day with a career-high 12.5 sacks in 2023, inking an extension after being traded to the Bears, while Greenard has more than earned his money with 128 pressures and 24.5 sacks over the past two seasons.

Comparatively, in part due to too many missed opportunities where he hasn’t finished when pressuring the pocket, Mafe hasn’t reached the peak that Burns, Sweat, Greenard, Landry, and Cooper have, as all five players have at least one season with double digit sacks and 20-plus quarterback hits. He also hasn’t made near as many impact plays with just two forced fumbles so far in his career, while Burns, Greenard, and Sweat each have at least seven apiece, though he isn’t disadvantaged in that category against Landry or Cooper.

What does that mean for a starting point negotiation-wise with Mafe? Based on sacks and quarterback hits, Schneider and the Seahawks have the grounds to offer in the $11-13 million range per year, as Cooper and Landry sit in the $13-14 million per year threshold with better numbers in both categories, equating to a three or four-year deal worth between $33 and $52 million.

But it takes two to tango when it comes to contract discussions and on the flip side, the 26-year old Mafe and his representative can point to his pressure totals, pass rush win rate, and overlooked prowess as a physical, assignment-sound run defender as reasons to add a few million to the treasure chest. From that perspective, they may be seeking $15 million or more per season to be right in the middle of the aforementioned contracts, which could potentially lead to a stalemate.

Since he’s in the prime of his career and appears to still be trending upward in his development, Seattle would be wise to try and find a way to ink Mafe now rather than take the risk he breaks out with a career year heading towards free agency as Frank Clark did back in 2018. If they view him as a foundational piece moving forward, doing so would save the organization significant money in the long run while also demonstrating their commitment to the player, eliminating the chance of history repeating itself with the player being franchised and eventually traded.

But that’s the million dollar question Schneider and the Seahawks have to ask themselves and reach a verdict on. Has Mafe shown enough on the field thus far to justify shelling out top-15 edge defender money to him? If they have any reservations on that front and the player demands that type of a contract, then this could be a very similar situation to the one they had with Clark, opening the door for complicated negotiations down the line without a clear resolution in sight in the present.