Defensive end Michael Bennett recently hired Relativity Sports as his new representation, and his new agent has met with the Seahawks about a new deal, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link). Bennett was previously a client of Rosenhaus sports.
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The 30-year-old Bennett has been seeking a new contract for the better part of a year, and he’s current set to enter the third year of a four-year, $28.5MM deal he signed prior to the 2013 season. Bennett has clearly outplayed that agreement — he once again graded among the top-five edge defenders per Pro Football Focus — but as I outlined last year, Bennett only has himself to blame, as he could have earned much more than his current $7.125MM annual value had he gone to the open market in 2013.
Though Bennett threatened to hold out last summer, Seattle has shown a reluctance to redo any part of his contract. But as Rapoport notes, Relativity Sports is the same agency that got the Seahawks to extend running back Marshawn Lynch on a short-term deal. So if that history means anything, perhaps the two sides can come to some sort of agreement.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
It at least makes more sense to discuss a new deal now, rather than last offseason, when he was just one year into his new contract. I’d expect a modest reworking that puts a little more money in Bennett’s pocket right now.