Hawks' 12th Man taking bigger role

Free agency is still weeks away, and the Seahawks still have time to get a contract extension or two done with players eligible to become free agents.

By now, the true fans know the big names. Jerramy Stevens. Ken Hamlin. Bobby Engram. And in the eyes of many, the biggest and most important name on that list: Josh Brown.

Is he expendable? Can the Seahawks afford to give him the significant raise he expects? Will the team sign him before free agency starts? Will Brown be around to see his favorite band, Rascal Flatts, perform March 4 at the Tacoma Dome? Or will he be out of town on a free-agent visit to a team seeking his services?

Sonia Valdez-Peterson of Des Moines will be at the March 4 show. And she hopes her favorite Seahawk, Brown, will be there, too, as a Seahawk.

Valdez-Peterson, 22, has put together something never done for any player in Seahawks history — a petition for the 12th Man to sign and let the Seahawks know that Brown should remain with the team.

"The 12th Man loves and supports this guy," Valdez-Peterson said. "It's evident. He's clutch. He won four games that got us into the playoffs. We love him. I think it's only fair to listen to what we have to say. Our opinions still matter."

More than 1,900 fans have signed the online petition. The comments range from the rah-rah ("Josh Brown is money, so show him some!") to the front-office bashing ("Why have you not re-signed him yet? Don't let this be another Steve Hutchinson") to the football-savvy ("Brown is the difference between a 9-7 season and a 5-11 season. SIGN HIM!!!") to the humorous ("He has my vote, he dated Carrie Underwood").

Allegedly.

The common thread is that Brown, a Seahawk since the team drafted him in the seventh round in 2003, is a fan favorite. And not just for his clutch kicking, even though he has six career game-winning field goals and is tied for the franchise record for field goals of 50 yards or more with 10.

Brown is a man of the people, so to speak. He is forthcoming with autograph and photo requests. He willingly appears at charity functions and fan events. He was a hit on television this past season with his interview segments with fans and players on FSN Seahawks programming.

"We've had reaction before when a player leaves or we cut a player in camp," said Gary Wright, the Seahawks' vice president of administration, who has been with the organization since its inception. "But not in advance like this. It's unique."

The reality is that the Seahawks would like to retain Brown, and are working to do that. It seems likely they'll come to terms with Brown before his contract expires March 1.

Brown stands to get a big raise from the $721,600 he made last season. Even that was quite a raise in base salary from 2005, after which his original three-year deal expired and he was tendered as a restricted free agent.

"We're going to do it before free agency hits," Seahawks general manager Tim Ruskell said of signing Brown, calling the kicker "an integral part" of the organization.

That had to be the team's thinking, even without Valdez-Peterson's petition, as Brown booted game-winners and saved the Seahawks' season. But if the Seahawks can't get a long-term deal done with Brown, they might have to saddle him with the franchise tag.

Brown might be the best Seahawk to be tagged — if Seattle chooses to use the designation — because the Seahawks don't have the big names headed for free agency they've had the past few years.

Thursday was the beginning of a two-week window for teams to designate a franchise or transition player.

Giving a kicker a franchise tag is very rare, though the New England Patriots did it with Adam Vinatieri in 2005.

Vinatieri sets the standard as far as kickers' contracts. He took his postseason credentials and signed for five years at $12 million with Indianapolis before last season, then helped the Colts win Super Bowl XLI with three field goals.

Brown isn't likely to get that kind of contract, but if he is made the franchise player, he is guaranteed to make $2.078 million in 2007.

Pay him, Valdez-Peterson and the petition signers say.

"We sit two rows behind him [when he's on the bench]," Valdez-Peterson said. "We're totally attached to this guy. If he wasn't in Seattle, he'd be huge [news] somewhere else. Do we want to see him kick against us? That would be a kick in the stomach."

Valdez-Peterson said Brown is aware of her drive to get him re-signed. She recently got to speak with Brown by calling into a local country-music radio station. She says Brown said he was flattered by the support and it was an unbelievable feeling having a community behind him.

Valdez-Peterson became a huge Seahawks fan four years ago. She met Brown briefly at the team's training camp at Eastern Washington University, and was impressed with how approachable and sincere and fan-friendly he acted.

"It's just really cool to see a football player act that way when you see so many players who don't," Valdez-Peterson said. "Hopefully we'll do what it takes to keep him."

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