I’m fairly certain you remember these names: Richard Sherman and Earl Thomas. Both were foundational players for the Seahawks. It’s no exaggeration to say without those two, there would be no Lombardi Trophy for Seattle. But eventually, both wanted more money than the Hawks were willing to pay. The players weren’t being greedy, nor was the team being cheap. Both the past and the team wanted to secure their future as they saw it.
Which brings us to Frank Clark and the trade. The standout defensive end initially seemed to be happy to wait for Seattle to give him a long-term deal, but changed his mind when the franchise tag was applied.