Seahawks hand Super Bowl winner fresh $90m contract… just a day after new owners’ $9.6bn sale went through
The Seattle Seahawks have agreed to terms which would make one of their star defensive players one of the best compensated at his position.
According to ESPN, the Seahawks have agreed to a three-year, $90million contract extension for defensive tackle Leonard Williams.
Williams, who is set to be one of the highest-paid defensive tackles in the league, will make $56million guaranteed in the deal, according to Adam Schefter.
The defensive tackle was scheduled to become a free agent in 2027, but now will stay with the reigning Super Bowl champions.
He moves into a tie for the fifth-highest paid DT alongside Tampa Bay’s Vita Vea, who just recently signed an extension himself.
Williams is now behind Jalen Carter of the Philadelphia Eagles, Quinnen Williams of the Dallas Cowboys, Jeffery Simmons of the Tennessee Titans and Chris Jones of the Kansas City Chiefs.
The Seattle Seahawks have agreed to a $90million extension for DT Leonard Williams
Williams (99) is now the joint fifth-highest paid defensive tackle in the NFL
Williams was a key contributor to the Seahawks’ victory in Super Bowl LX over the Patriots
The 32-year-old Williams is one of the biggest stars on the Seahawks defense and is widely viewed as one of the key reasons for their title victory.
Williams was voted as the NFL’s best defensive tackle by league executives, coaches and scouts in a poll conducted by ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler.
One coordinator called him ‘the most important player on that Super Bowl team.’
Williams was acquired by the Seahawks in a mid-season trade with the New York Giants in 2023. Since then, he has flourished into a star.
In his two full seasons in Seattle, Williams made the Pro Bowl both times – earning second-team All-Pro honors in 2025. The year prior, he recorded 11 sacks and returned an interception 92 yards for a touchdown, the longest pick-six by a defensive lineman in NFL history.
Last season, Williams put up seven sacks in the regular season plus one in the playoffs en route to the title.
The signing of the contract comes just one day after NFL owners approved a $9.6billion sale of the team to a group led by Indian manufacturer and venture capitalist Vinod Khosla. Khosla is currently a limited partner of the San Francisco 49ers and will need to sell his stake in the team.