Seattle Seahawks re-sign Michael Bennett

Seattle Seahawks defensive end Michael Bennett signed a multiyear contract extension with the team on Monday.

Bennett’s new deal is for four years and $28.5 million. The deal has $16 million guaranteed. In the first year he will make $10 million, in the second year $6 million, $5 million in the third year, and $7.5 million in the final year, according to ESPN. Two teams had offered Bennett more, but he decided to stay with the Super Bowl champions.

''I don't know if there was any doubt, but there was a lot of speculation a lot of teams tried to get me to come there,'' Bennett said. ''But ultimately I wanted to come back and play with these guys and win some more games.''

He added, ''Yeah there was more, but I wanted to be here man. There are a lot of young guys here, and there are a lot of winning ways and I just love the organization and the things that they are about. I love the staff, from the equipment staff to the medical staff; it just goes on and on.''

Bennett was one of the NFL’s top free agents. He had a breakout year last year and was the Seahawks best defensive player. In the regular season he had eight and a half sacks, which was the most by a Seahawks player, and a fumble return for a touchdown, according to the Associated Press. In the NFC Divisional game he had a forced fumble and recovery. In the NFC Championship game he had one sack and a forced fumble and recovery.

The Seahawks parted ways with defensive end Red Bryant and wide receiver Sidney Rice to create more cap space so that they could keep Bennett. It’s a good thing that they made those moves because Bennett could have gone to the Bears, who were strongly pursuing him, if they hadn’t.

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