Seahawks Give Trufant $50 Million Deal

AP Sports Writer

Pro Bowl cornerback Marcus Trufant and the Seahawks have agreed to a $50.2 million, six-year contract that runs through 2013.

Agent Doug Hendrickson said the deal for 11th overall draft choice out of Washington State in 2003 includes $20 million in guarantees. A $3 million roster bonus due in 2010 effectively means Trufant is due $28 million over the first three years of the contract, making him one of the highest-paid cornerbacks in the league.

Adding to his good fortune, the Tacoma native is getting married on Saturday.

"Yeah, it's a good week for Marcus," Hendrickson said in telephone interview Wednesday morning.

Last year, Nate Clements signed an $80 million, eight-year contract with the San Francisco 49ers. Last week, the Oakland Raiders traded with Atlanta for DeAngelo Hall and then gave Hall a $70 million, seven-year deal.

A team spokesman confirmed that a media conference scheduled for Wednesday afternoon is to announce Trufant's new deal.

The Seahawks had designated Trufant as their franchise player for this year and were mandated to offer him a one-year tender worth a guaranteed $9,465,000, the average of the top five salaries for cornerbacks in the league.

Trufant had been free to negotiate with other teams in free agency that began March 1. Hendrickson said that never happened because teams did not want to give Seattle two first-round draft choices should the Seahawks decline to match other offers for Trufant, per the league's franchise-tag rules.

"All along, he never wanted to leave Seattle," Hendrickson said.

Now, Seattle gets a lower salary cap number for Trufant in 2008, lessening the fiscal pressure the team had been feeling after signing free-agent running backs Julius Jones and T.J. Duckett, plus former Pro Bowl guard Mike Wahle. The Seahawks also gave Pro Bowl linebacker Lofa Tatupu a new contract last week worth a potential $42 million through 2015.

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