Over the course of the offseason there’s been no shortage of debate regarding whether the Seattle Seahawks opted to head down the correct path at the quarterback position, trading Geno Smith to the Las Vegas Raiders and signing free agent Sam Darnold. Whether one prefers Sam Darnold for $105M or Geno Smith for $106M over the next three seasons, the bigger issue at play is not who will be under center for Seattle in 2025, but how the rapidly rising salary cap has thrown a wrench in salary equity across the league.
After years of teams continually operating right up against the salary cap due to the knock on effects of the pandemic-driven revenue shortfall from the 2020 season, teams across the league are flush with cap space.