Full breakdown of the Will Dissly contract

The legal tampering period of free agency opened Monday, and the Seattle Seahawks immediately got right to retaining a trio of their own free agents in Quandre Diggs, Sidney Jones and Will Dissly. The initially reported terms of the contract for Dissly, at $24M over three years, seemed an overpay at first glance to many, but several fans noted they wanted to hold off on passing judgment until the full details and structure of the contract were available.

Those are now available, so here’s a look at what the Hawks will be paying to replace Gerald Everett, and in spite of having Noah Fant and Colby Parkinson already on the roster.

• Signing bonus: $9.3M
• Base salaries: $1.04M (2022), $5.64M (2023) and $6.49M (2024)
• Per game roster bonuses: $30k per game, up to $510k per year

The 2022 base salary of $1.04M is fully guaranteed while the $5.64M base salary of 2023 is guaranteed for injury only. That said, while the $5.64M is guaranteed for injury only, it is, effectively, fully guaranteed given the structure of the deal.

With the contract including a $9.3M signing bonus, if the Seahawks were to release Dissly after the 2022 season they would incur a $6.2M dead cap hit. That means that if they decide to move on from Dissly prior to the 2023 season the deal would effectively have been a one-year, $10.85M contract. That’s a whole lot of money for a single season of a player who has zero seasons with more than 300 yards receiving in his career. Yes, Dissly’s a good blocker, but he’s not a $10.85M per year good blocker, and if he were he’d be playing tackle and making twice as much.

Moving on, if the Seahawks were to decide to jettison Dissly after the 2023, they would have paid $17M for two years. That’s $8.5M per year if the team moves on after the second season. Meanwhile, if Dissly plays out his contract and sticks around for the full three years playing in all 51 games, he will have earned the full $24M.

Thus, the reality of the situation is that Dissly’s contract is a three-year, $22.47M deal with $30k in per game roster bonuses that could push his earning up to $24M over the duration of the contract. There is no real “up to” or incentive structure that needs discussed in terms of how much Dissly will be paid, as the salary and pay structure of the contract are about as straightforward as they come. It’s a one year, $10.85M deal, a two year, $8.5M deal or a three year $8M contract. That’s it.

The only thing to dissect is how many of the per game roster bonuses he will earn, as after catastrophic injuries in each of his first two years in the league he has appeared in 32 of 34 games the past two seasons including the playoffs. So, now that it’s known that it’s a true $8M per year contract, the discussion regarding whether it is an overpay or not may truly begin.