Seattle Seahawks sign NT Uso Seumalo

Seumalo's three-year, $3.11M deal with Seattle earns a C+ Contract Value Index (CVI) — a fair-value signing at the margins rather than a steal or an overpay, which is exactly what a contract of this structure should be. At a $1.04M AAV, this is minimum-adjacent money for a nose tackle, a position where the market premium goes to elite run-stuffers who anchor a defense and command real cap dollars — Seumalo is not that guy, and Seattle isn't paying him like he is. The CVI reflects a production tier that reads as replacement-level to middling; you're getting a depth piece who fills a roster spot and competes for snaps, not a franchise-caliber interior presence who changes your defensive identity. The contract structure is where things get genuinely concerning: $40,000 in guaranteed money on a three-year deal is essentially zero security, meaning this is a prove-it arrangement dressed up as a multi-year commitment — Seattle can walk away at essentially no cost, which tells you everything about the confidence level on both sides. That near-zero guarantee cuts both ways as a risk assessment: the Seahawks have almost no downside exposure, but Seumalo has almost no leverage or stability, which typically signals a player on the roster bubble rather than a building-block piece. For a 14-3 club with the top seed in the NFC firmly in hand heading into the 2026 regular season, this is the kind of low-floor, low-ceiling depth transaction that makes roster sense without moving the needle on the overall defensive projection. The CVI landing where it does is appropriate — there's nothing wrong with the deal, but there's also nothing here that gives Seattle a competitive advantage at the position.