Seattle Seahawks Rumors: Marshawn Lynch Could Turn Down Big Contract Extension, Retire Instead

The Seattle Seahawks rode Marshawn Lynch to two Super Bowl appearances and one win in the last two years, but now the moody running back may choose to hang up his cleats rather than take the team’s big contract extension offer.

For weeks rumors have circulated that the team was offering a “huge” contract extension across multiple years.

NFL.com shared details of the proposed deal:

“The deal is believed to include more than $10 million for Lynch in the 2015 season alone. Lynch currently is slated to make $5 million in 2015, the final year of what originally was a four-year, $31 million deal.”

But as talks failed to advance, speculation has been growing about whether Lynch wants to play at all, and this week Seattle general manager John Schneider addressed these rumors.

“Whether or not he wants to play next year, I can’t answer that,” Schneider said in an interview on the Brock and Salk Show on ESPN 710 Seattle. “I don’t know if he knows at this juncture.”

The situation has changed quite a bit in the last few weeks. Near the end of the season and into the start of the playoffs, rumors circulated that the team may be planning to release Marshawn Lynch after the season. At that point the bruising running back was getting in trouble with the league for his on-field celebrations and refusals to talk to the media, and had a cool relationship with the team’s coaching staff.

The team could save $7 million in cap space by releasing Lynch. He also turns 29 later this year, meaning he is close to over the hill for a running back.

But in the run to the Super Bowl, things changed. Marshawn Lynch put the team on his back, nearly leading them to a second title in the last two years and changing the team’s mind about releasing him.

Marshawn Lynch hasn’t given any indications whether he will return to the Seattle Seahawks or if he plans to retire. His agent, Doug Hendrickson, said in a text message to the Seattle Times that he had “no comment” on the retirement rumors.