Michael Bennett has not been shy about stating his unhappiness when his contract when given an opportunity, and he repeated to the NFL Network on Monday that he could hold out of training camp in an attempt to get a new deal from the Seahawks.
Seattle defensive lineman Michael Bennett has not been shy about stating his unhappiness when his contract when given an opportunity, and he repeated to the NFL Network on Monday that he could hold out of training camp in an attempt to get a new deal from the Seahawks.
Bennett is quoted as saying that a holdout is “definitely possible.”
Bennett also told a Honolulu TV station over the weekend that he might hold out, and in late May also talked at length about his unhappiness with his current contract.
To the NFL Network, Bennett repeated that he feels he has outplayed his contract.
“I know a lot of people disagree because I don’t put up all the numbers, but if you watch the games, I’m doing good things,” he said. “They want me to play five positions but pay me for one.”
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Bennett told the NFL Network he is willing to risk fines of up to $30,000 a day to hold out (teams don’t have to levy the fines and often waive them once players report).
Bennett signed a four-year contract worth $28.5 million in March, 2014, shortly before he could have become an unrestricted free agent. The contract includes $16 million in guarantees.
Last month, Bennett noted that his role on the team has increased since signing his deal.
His salary ranks him tied for 14th in average salary per year ($7.125 million) among defensive ends in a 4-3 defense, according to OvertheCap.com.
Bennett said he would like to be paid at least among the top eight at his position. According to OvertheCap.com, that would give Bennett a yearly average salary of $10 million.
“Somewhere near the top seven at my position, top eight at my position,’’ Bennett said in May. “Not a lot of guys play inside and out (meaning both tackle and end). Not a lot of guys do what I do. So I feel like I should be somewhere near there.’’
Bennett played almost 85 percent of the snaps for the Seahawks last season. That ranked Bennett ninth among all defensive linemen in the NFL, according to FootballOutsiders.com.
Fans may be growing weary of Bennett’s comments on this topic. But that he said again today to the league’s website indicates that he isn’t backing down.
As for how serious he is about holding out, we will probably have to wait until camp begins on July 31 to know for sure.
What is unlikely to happen by then is a new contract for Bennett as the team has made it pretty clear it is not real interested in redoing contracts on which there is more than a year remaining.
Seahawks general manager John Schneider, for instance, noted in an interview with 710 ESPN Seattle in February that the team declined to redo Marshawn Lynch’s deal last summer when he held out for a week due to not wanting to set a precedent.
“If we re-did a contract for Marshawn, everybody would be standing outside my office looking for a new contract whenever they wanted it in their deals,” Schneider said then.
Bennett seems increasingly willing to test that stance.