The big news of the day was that Lofa and the Seahawks reached a long term agreement. This deal is an extension on top of his current contract, which most believed would void after this year. However the new deal adds on to two years for which he was under contract with 6 more years, keeping Lofa in Seattle utill 2015.
John Clayton, in this story here, is reporting the deal is for slightly more than 40 mil.
Tim Ruskell, Mike Holmgren and Lofa all spoke at the press conference. What I thought was very telling was that Patrick Kerney, Deon Grant, Craig Terril, and Jordan Babineaux all restructured to help get this done.
To see quotes and analysis.....
Lofa said..."I couldn't imagine myself in any other uniform and now I don't have too." He also said..."He needed some rings for his jewelry drawer." and this defense can be "as good as they want to be."
Tim Ruskell said "this contract essentially makes Lofa a Seahawk for life."
Coach Holmgren said.."Players like Lofa don't come around very often, he is a special young man."
I say CHEERS to Tim Ruskell and the Seahawks front office. Now that players he drafted for his system are coming up on the end of the deals, I expect to see this become a much more common occurrence and I for one and very excited about the future of this defense. Especially considering the all for one mentality shown by several members of LOFA's unit!
Does this put more pressure on Marcus? No probably not. However, it does show that some of the players are more interested in the making this the best team possible and not trying to get the most money. At some point Marcus may have to decide which type of person he is.
I have no word on any contract figures or cap hits, but if they come out I will get them to you.
Trugant...new assclown for the day.
ReplyDeletegreedy son-of-a-B#*!@
duh TRUFANT. I am so excited i can't spell....
ReplyDeleteLofa's contract has been at the back of all of our minds all offseason. This is a GREAT Friday. 51 will be in Canton one day and I'm glad he'll be a Seahawk! Thank you TR.
ReplyDeleteYung Hawk
This is fantastic news!
ReplyDeleteIt should put pressure on Trufant. Next year we would be in the position of having to franchise either trufant or Lofa. Now lofa is off the table for the franchise tag. So we could theoretically franchise trufant again ala walter jones.
ReplyDelete-PaulySINM
Trufant begins to look like an ass when players around him show what it means to truely have a love for the game before the money. I own 2 Tatupu jersys and am glad I do, I love the intensity he plays with and his desire to win. this was a great move and it has been fun to watch Tatupu the rookie turn into Tatupu the Defensive leader and veteran.
ReplyDeleteBrah
Maybe trufant just doesn't want to go to training camp...
ReplyDelete_Pauly
Awesome! Six more years I can wear my Lofa jersey!
ReplyDeleteAt some point Marcus may have to decide which type of person he is.
ReplyDeletethank you, Michael, that is precisely what this comes down to. and he needs to decide sooner, rather than later. today's events have made me greedy: I want a Trufant and Hill announcement, together, and I want it within a week.
Seattle is becoming the kind of franchise that makes players want to be worthy of playing for it-- that's a rare thing. Tru, you're either a) humble, a team player, playing for a winner, and very rich, or b) gone, and just a little bit richer than "very rich". Deal or no deal, 23.
Just to be clear...Kerney/Grant and others did NOT agree to take less money. Your writing suggests that and I guarantee that is not the case. They 'restructured' their contracts, which could mean anything from reclassifying a bonus, adding an additional year at the end or many other tricks. In no way, shape or form, did these players give up money to keep Tatupu on the team.
ReplyDeleteHow do you know? Have you seen their contracts?
ReplyDeleteanonymous @ 1:10 pm are you sure? I believe restructuring sometimes means what you're talking about, but sometimes also means taking a pay cut. if what you said were true, why would Grant text message Tatupu to say "hey man, no worries"?
ReplyDeleteIt is against CBA to change a contract, they would have to sign a completely new contract.
ReplyDeleteCheck it out, I went old school with the post....anybody remember that picture....look how far we have come in such little time
ReplyDeleteI think if you are reading that they taking less money, that is your interpretation. All I said is that they restructured and are team first guys.
ReplyDeleteZawk: Awesome! Six more years I can wear my Lofa jersey!
ReplyDeleteLOL! I know how you feel buddy :)
This is awesome news. Take note Tru. If anyone is at the top of their game, it's Lofa. You're not far off this rung my son, but you ain't there yet. Food for thought when considering your new contract. Sometimes it's better to swallow your pride (and your agent's B$).
And Just FYI, it is the baseball players association who doesn't allow that.
ReplyDeleteLook at Chad Pennington two years ago after his injury, he dropped his salary from 7 mil to 1 mil + incentives, so it does happen in football.
Who is trufant's agent! I don't like him whoever he is.
ReplyDelete-PaulySINM
I think this speaks volumes of Lofa's leadership. He could have waited for FA and demand to be payed as the highest LB in the league, and he would be right to do so, but I think he is trying to lead by example and hopefully Tru is watching.
ReplyDelete- Coach B
Big news: in just another week or so, my Seattle Seahawks calendar turns to April. The picture: #51 Lofa Tatupu.
ReplyDeleteIt's great to know we'll be seeing him for years to come.
I like the point regarding 'what type of person Tru is' by mike and shams. I doubt we're trying to screw Tru financially, but how do we know?
I'm a geek.
ReplyDeletePaying someone 8 mil a year is pretty far from trying to screw them, at least in my book
ReplyDeleteHey Mike, I missed Shaun's name in the list of restructures. Did you forget to leave it out?
ReplyDeleteI didn't expect this so soon, but couldn't be happier!! Lofa is a quality player AND man. We can have both here!! I do agree with Tru needing to decide what kind of player he wants to be. I would imagine his agent has a lot to do with what is happening. He needs to step up on this one! FYI...I am a huge Hawks fan and this site has given me one place to go to get my fix...LOVE IT!!
ReplyDeletePaying someone 8 mil a year is pretty far from trying to screw them, at least in my book
ReplyDeleteif that counts as getting screwed, the line to get screwed forms behind me.
myseahawks... They are going to get Shaun to restructure as soon as they have that deal for a 2nd, 3rd, and 5th rounder worked out
ReplyDeleteGood deal for Lofa.
ReplyDeleteGood deal for the Seahawks.
Good day to be a Seahawks fan.
bk
YES!!! YES!!! YES!!!!! My favorite Seattle sports athlete will be along for the long haul. YES!!! YES!!!!
ReplyDeleteIt is 520pm EST, and this news has made my weekend!!!! YES! YES!
Thanks for the awesome updates, MIKE!!!!!
What I'm curious about is if we're offering fair market value or asking too much of a 'home-town discount'. Making 8 mil / year I'd be anything short of a fluffer. ;)
ReplyDeleteWoooo-HOOOOOOOOOO!
ReplyDeleteI loves me some Lofa, and now we don't have to worry that he's going anywhere else!
What a great Easter gift, huh?
-S
Hell Yes! Thank God Ruskell got it done. And cheers to Lofa for taking WAAAAY less money than if he waited for Free Agency. I still think he would/could have commanded 10 million a year for 5 years.
ReplyDeleteLofa is much more important to this team, and worth so much more, than Trufant. If Tru wont sign for less than or equal to Lofa, then screw him, he can go play for the Tardinals...
SlaveToTheBusinessman
Is it just me but I am so excited about next year. We are not making large splashes but everything is adding up and current is heading towards SB. Lofa is out of the way and is leading by example. We are a team, not a group of individuals(ie Bengals). Thank you Deon Grant, Patrick Kerney, Craig Terrill, and Jordan Babineaux. Lets tip our hats towards them. As previously stated lets see if Trufant follows suit.
ReplyDeleteOur defense is only going to improve since they will have less time on the field with an improved running game. I am so emotional now, don't cry for me Argentina.
GO SEAHAWKS!!!!
I noticed that photo of Lofa reused.
ReplyDeleteWere you asked to take that photo off of your site? I prefer that to the current logo.
- SteveR
No Steve, but no worries, there will be another new title/logo soon. Hopefully you will like it.
ReplyDelete"taking less money" is pretty relative in the NFL..
ReplyDeleteFor instance, if you are scheduled to make $4,000,000 a year for 3 (more) years, and took no signing bonus (this is an example), for instance you could reduce your wage this year to the vet minimum (which is probably around 650,000) and take the other 3,350,000 as a signing/roster bonus, which then gets divided over 3 years, so your cap for that year just dropped 2 million bucks even though you are taking no less money. You could also add a year (or 2), for a ton, (which the team could void) and it would reduce it even more.
Now I can exhale! This is really great news. However, who didn't expect Lofa to do something that would likewise be beneficial for himself AND the team? Is it any wonder why HE is the defensive leader? Yessssssssssssssssssssss.
ReplyDeleteseatowntp
I think the best part of this is that Ruskell and Holmgren were prolly planning this the whole time! So friggen smart of them to pull this out of their pocket, while Trufant waits for them to start really negotiating his contract.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if anyone else thought that was their plan this whole time...?
Corvus
Awesome news. Man Lofa is even more likeable now. I loves me some Seattle D, I wish the O came across as united and unstoppable.
ReplyDeleteAwesome news. I met Lofas mom and sister at the SD preseason game and you can see where Lofa drew his charachter from. IE the apple didnt fall far from the tree. My son and I sat next to them at the game and being huge hawk fans they invited us to the family private section to meet him. This man is the real deal and I wish we had more people like him. It also made the drive back to phx more easy. take note trufant these type of acts in profesional sports are what seperate the men from the boys. its a very great day in az to be a hawk fan to. thank you Lofa, Tim and of course Lofas Mom family and Girlfriend, also the teamates who got this done. go hawks.
ReplyDelete