Sam Darnold has been called many things over the years: draft bust, journeyman, backup, but now, eight seasons into his NFL career, he’s finally earning a new title: franchise quarterback.
And with that comes the biggest payday of his life.
Sam Darnold’s Big Contract With Seattle: How Much Is He Making?
This offseason, Darnold signed a three-year, $100.5 million contract with the Seattle Seahawks. The deal is structured heavily in his favor for Year 1, giving him $37.5 million in guaranteed base salary.
After that, Seattle has two “team option” years worth $31.5 million apiece in 2026 and 2027. For a player who made just $10 million on a prove-it deal with the Vikings last season, it’s a career-altering leap.
It’s also a well-earned reward. In 2024, Darnold played the best football of his career in Minnesota. Under Coach of the Year Kevin O’Connell and with Justin Jefferson as his top target, he threw for 4,319 yards and 35 touchdowns, numbers that not only revived his reputation but also made him one of the most sought-after free agents in the offseason.
Darnold’s story is remarkable when you consider the path he’s taken. He entered the league in 2018 as the Jets’ No. 3 overall pick, carrying the weight of expectations in New York.
After struggles there, he spent time with the Panthers and 49ers, then landed in Minnesota almost by chance. Now, on his fifth NFL team, he’s finally found stability in Seattle, and the Seahawks look like a team built to contend.
Darnold’s Net Worth and How the 2025 Season Is Going So Far
The financial side tells its own story. Darnold has earned more than $65 million from NFL contracts so far, with his net worth estimated at around $30 million. If he plays out his full three-year deal in Seattle, those career earnings will swell to more than $165 million.
On the field this season, Darnold has carried that same Minnesota momentum into Seattle. Through seven games, he’s thrown for 1,754 passing yards with 12 touchdowns. He has also completed 68.2% of his throws and is averaging 9.1 yards per pass attempt.
At 5-2, Seattle looks like a legitimate NFC West contender. Based on PFSN’s QB Impact metric, Darnold is the 11th-ranked quarterback in the league.
For Darnold, it’s not just about the money right now. He is demonstrating that persistence pays off in victories, stability, and yes, a $100 million contract, after being cast off and then making a successful comeback.
Seahawks Players’ Fantasy Outlooks for Week 9
Here’s what PFSN’s Kyle Soppe wrote on the Seahawks’ notable players’ fantasy outlooks for the Week 9 matchup against the Washington Commanders:
Sam Darnold
The volume isn’t quite the same, but you could have made a lot of money forecasting Sam Darnold to average more fantasy points per pass this season than last.
Fantasy Points Per Pass Attempt
- 2024 with Vikings: 0.53
- 2025 with Seahawks: 0.57
After a strong start to the season, Washington has struggled to create pressure without the courtesy of the blitz, and that means one of two things is likely to happen on Sunday night: (1) Darnold is comfortable in a clean pocket or (2) the Commanders are left vulnerable on the back-end as a result of needing to crowd the line of scrimmage.
Realistically, I’m OK with either result, but which adventure you believe is most likely for them to choose impacts where Darnold ranks among the pocket-locked QBs this week.
Sam Darnold Splits
- 2024, when blitzed: 66.4% complete and 133.6 rating
- 2025, when blitzed: 59.3% complete and 92.9 rating
- 2024, when not pressured: 73.7% complete, 8.2 yards per attempt
- 2025, when not pressured: 78.7% complete, 10.3 yards per attempt
With Seattle coming off the bye, I’m more bullish on Darnold in this spot than the industry norm and see him as a threat to the top 12 at the position, even without an expectation of any points on the ground.
Jaxon Smith-Njigba
We spent time this summer worrying about what a move out of the slot would mean for Jaxon Smith-Njigba, with Seattle moving on from the receivers they had banked on for years, thus elevating JSN into a truly featured role.
We nailed the “out of the slot” portion of that. The “worrying” part? That was silly.
Smith-Njigba’s slot usage has fallen from 77.4% of routes to 19.4%. The loss of those “easier” targets hasn’t mattered in the least.
His average depth of target is up 41.3% from a season ago, and it hasn’t stopped him from earning 10 looks per game. He had a 40-yard catch in each of his first six games this season and has scored in three straight, following his TD in Week 7 against the Texans with an easy dunk on the uprights all in one motion from his route, an impressive athletic feat for a six-footer wearing pads.
I think a 38.3% target share and a 46.3% receiving-yardage share (he has 819 receiving yards and is the only Seahawk at even 300) are probably high-water marks. I have a hard time not penciling in some regression, but even a bit of backtracking keeps him EASILY inside the top 10 the rest of the way.
He’s a matchup-proof alpha. The numbers are expected to continue piling up this week and moving forward, giving you great value based on his preseason ADP.
Whispers … He faces the Panthers in Week 17, giving him every chance to not only be the reason your team makes the playoffs, but the reason you win the whole thing.
Kenneth Walker III
This is an old man yelling at clouds situation, and guess what? The clouds? They never listen. Kenneth Walker has his weekly moments, but NFL coaches love consistency, and if anything, Walker has been a consistent detriment.
He’s pacing to finish as a 20th percentile running back in terms of rush gain rate, something he’s done every season of his career up to this point. There’s a reason that the Barry Sanderses of the world are considered special: that home run-seeking style is hard to pull off.
Walker has been held under four yards per carry in three straight, held out of the end zone in four straight, and has just five catches in six games since catching three balls in Week 1.
We can beg for more work, but he hasn’t really earned it. Giving him more work would encourage a style that has been a net negative for going on five seasons. There is raw talent here, no doubt, and maybe we get a taste of that this weekend. Or maybe we don’t.
The fact that we can’t count on him carries over to the coaching staff, and that’s why I have a hard time penciling him in for over 15 touches in any single game. The touch count is close enough to that of Zach Charbonnet, so I’ll continue to rank him a touch higher because I have to account for the potential of a splash play, but I don’t feel great about playing him as an RB2 this week. Or, to be honest, any week.