Despite rumors of retirement and discontent between him and his team’s front office, it looks like Marshawn Lynch will return to the Seattle Seahawks next season.
Adam Schefter of ESPN reported the news on Twitter.
Spotted on plane on way to SEA, Marshawn Lynch has decided to return to NFL; he and Seattle have reached agreement on new deal, per source.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 6, 2015
Lynch is coming off one of his best seasons as a pro. He set a career high with 17 regular season touchdowns and his 1306 rushing yards was his second-best season total of his career.
Also, no running back has been more dominant over the past five years than Marshawn Lynch.
Marshawn Lynch ranks 1st in NFL in Rush Yds (5,930), Rush TD (54) & Yds after contact (2,707) since joining Seattle. pic.twitter.com/IZYK8E3dhm
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) March 6, 2015
Although details of an agreement are not known as of this writing, expect Beast Mode to be back promoting his Skittles on the sidelines and frustrating reporters to no end at the podium next season.
UPDATE: ProFootballTalk is reporting that the new terms of Lynch’s deal will pay him $31 million over the next three years. He will most likely make $12 million in the coming season.
Per a source with knowledge of the terms, Lynch gets $12 million this year, in the form $7.5 million signing bonus and a $4.5 million fully-guaranteed base salary.
In 2016, Lynch (if he plays) will get a base salary of $9 million. In 2017 (if he plays), it’s a base salary of $7 million in 2017 along with a $3 million roster bonus due on the fifth day of the 2017 league year.