Hawks' interest was not evident, Hutchinson says

That he was so richly compensated wasn't the whole story. Pro Bowl guard Steve Hutchinson said he wanted a long-term contract, and when the Seahawks put off those negotiations, he questioned his future with the team.

For that reason, the offensive guard accepted the Vikings' unprecedented contract offer.

"The truth of the matter is that I wanted to have a contract extension done before last season, and certainly before the [transition] tag deadline," Hutchinson said on a media conference call Tuesday. "The Seahawks were either unwilling or unwanting to give me that contract, and Minnesota stepped up to the plate and offered it to me."

Hutchinson made his first public comments as a Viking on Tuesday, not 24 hours after the NFL deadline passed without Seattle matching Minnesota's seven-year $49 million deal, making him the highest-paid guard in NFL history.

It signaled the end of Hutchinson's five-year career in Seattle, where he made three Pro Bowls and formed part of the best left side of an offensive line in football in recent years.

Hutchinson said the Vikings made their offer for him as soon as free agency started on March 10. He was asked to clarify his statement about the Seahawks not offering him a long-term deal.

"Last February, they said they wanted to do something right after the draft [in April]," Hutchinson said in the interview on www.vikings.com. "I said great. I wanted to get something done before the season started because I wanted to be able to concentrate on the season. And there wasn't any real communication or real negotiations that took place before the season started. So that was the end of that."

The Seahawks had no comment on Hutchinson's statements.

After the season, Hutchinson thought he would be designated the Seahawks' franchise player, which would have made it very difficult for another team to sign him and would have given Seattle more time to work out a contract with him.

"They didn't pursue me as hard as I thought they would," he said. "That didn't happen, and when you're pretty sure some things are going to happen and they don't, it makes you wonder if maybe they wanted to go a different route or what."

Hutchinson, 28, said he had no problems with the Seahawks and that the Vikings approached him with a contract that was in the best interests of his family.

"I'm grateful for the friendships I made in Seattle; a lot of those are friends for life," he said. "I am, however, equally grateful and excited about my career with the Minnesota Vikings and look forward to coming to Minneapolis as soon as possible."

José Miguel Romero: 206-464-2409 or jromero@seattletimes.com