Justin Britt will be sticking around Seattle through at least the 2020 season. ESPN’s Brady Henderson reports that the Seahawks have picked up the center’s $5MM option.
As Henderson details, picking up the option was necessary if Seattle wanted to keep Britt for several more seasons. Declining the option would have voided the final year of the deal, which would have allowed the lineman to hit free agency following the 2019 season.
That would have also boosted Britt’s 2018 base salary from $2.75MM to $7.75MM, which is a pretty drastic uptick. By picking up the option, that extra $5MM will now translate in the form of a bonus, and his cap number remains at $6.17MM. These details are all part of the three-year, $27MM extension the 26-year-old signed last offseason.
The 2014 second-round pick has spent his entire career in Seattle, and he’s started all 63 games he’s appeared in since entering the league. After earning a top-10 center rating in 2016, Britt took a bit of a step back in 2017. Pro Football Focus ultimately ranked the veteran 17th among 36 eligible center candidates.