Seahawks Clinch Playoff Spot As $100M Sam Darnold Deal Pays Off

The Seahawks became the third NFL team to clinch a playoff berth this season with their come-from-behind 38–37 overtime victory over the Rams on Thursday night, giving further validation to their $100 million gamble on quarterback Sam Darnold this past offseason.

Seattle (12–3) pulled one game ahead of Los Angeles (11–4) in the NFC West, and it is now in pole position to earn the conference’s No. 1 seed and sole first-round bye.

Darnold signed a three-year, $100.5 million contract with the Seahawks in March, after the Vikings let him walk in favor of second-year quarterback J.J. McCarthy, who has a salary-cap hit of just under $5 million this season as part of his rookie contract. Darnold led Minnesota to a 14–3 record last season playing on a one-year, $10 million deal.

Darnold is third in the NFL this season with 3,703 passing yards and his 24 touchdown passes rank fifth in the league, while his 13 interceptions are the third-highest.

While Seattle has the option of releasing Darnold after this season and ultimately having to pay only $37.5 million of his $100 million deal, the team’s performance suggests he’ll be around for at least another year, if not more. He’s due $27.5 million in 2026, which would take his compensation over the first two seasons of his three-year contract to $65 million. Darnold could seek a raise and/or more guaranteed money this coming offseason, too.

The Seahawks’ success comes as the Vikings (6–8) are already eliminated from postseason contention. McCarthy has played in just eight games this season due to injuries.

Meanwhile, former Seattle coach Pete Carroll, who was fired after the 2023 season, is struggling in his first season coaching the Raiders, who are tied for the worst record in the NFL at 2–12. 

Last month, Las Vegas fired Chip Kelly, who the team hired in February and made the highest-paid offensive coordinator in the league with a $6 million annual salary. The Raiders traded a third-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft to the Seahawks for quarterback Geno Smith, and then they signed him to a two-year contract extension worth up to $85.5 million. 

Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald is in his second year at the helm, after signing a six-year contract in 2024 worth up to $9 million annually.