Age: 29
Free Agency: 2028 (Void)
Accrued Seasons: 8
- Height: 6'3"
- Weight: 221
- College: USC
- Entry: 2018 Draft, Round 1, #3 overall (Jets)
- 2026 Salary Cap Charge: $37,900,000 (12.07% of cap)
- 2026 Cash Payout: $27,500,000 (8.64% of spending)
- 2026 Cash to Cap Ratio: 0.73
- Contract Value: $100,500,000 ($33,500,000 APY)
- Fully Guaranteed Money: $37,500,000
- Contract Ranking: 15/98 at QB
Current Contract
(UFA, signed 2025)
(📝: indicates contract trigger occuring during that year)| Year | Age | Base Salary | Prorated Signing Bonus | Roster Bonus | Workout Bonus | Other Bonus | Guaranteed Salary | Cap Number | Cap % | Dead Money & Cap Savings | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 28 | $5,300,000 | $6,400,000 | $0 | $200,000 | $1,500,000 | $5,500,000 | $13,400,000 | 4.7% | |||||
| 2026
March 15: Roster bonus due
| 29 | $12,300,000 | $6,400,000 | $15,000,000 | $200,000 | $4,000,000 | $17,500,000 | $37,900,000 | 12.1% | |||||
| 2027
March 17: Roster bonus due
| 30 | $35,500,000 | $6,400,000 | $10,000,000 | $200,000 | $0 | $0 | $44,900,000 | 13.7% | |||||
| 2028
February 20: Contract voids
| 31 | Void | $6,400,000 | Void | Void | Void | Void | $12,800,000 | 3.6% | |||||
| 2029 | 32 | Void | $6,400,000 | Void | Void | Void | Void | $0 | -- | |||||
| Total | $53,100,000 | $32,000,000 | $25,000,000 | $600,000 | $5,500,000 | $23,000,000 | $109,000,000 | |||||||
Contract Notes
Sam Darnold signed a three year, $100.5 million contract with the Seahawks. $55 million is guaranteed of which $37.5 million is fully guaranteed at signing. Darnold received a $32 million signing bonus and his 2025 salary is fully guaranteed. If on the roster on the 5th day of the 2026 waiver period, $17.5 million of his 2026 salary will be fully guaranteed. If Darnold is on the roster on the 5th day of the 2027 league year he will earn a $10 million roster bonus. There are up to $10 million in additional incentives for performance and team performance that can also be earned. There are two void years in the contract for salary cap purposes.
Cash Flows
| 2025 | 2026 | 2027 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cash Due | $37,500,000 | $27,500,000 | $35,500,000 |
| Running Cash | $37,500,000 | $65,000,000 | $100,500,000 |
Career Earnings: $105,365,694
Career APY: $13,170,712
Contract History
| Team | Contract Type | Status | Year Signed | Yrs | Total | APY | Guarantees | Amount Earned | % Earned | Effective APY |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jets | Drafted | Traded | 2018 | 4 | $30,247,694 | $7,561,924 | $30,247,694 | $25,733,009 | 85.1% | $8,577,670 |
| Panthers | Drafted | Expired | 2018 | 4 | $30,247,694 | $7,561,924 | $30,247,694 | $23,632,685 | 78.1% | $11,816,343 |
| 49ers | UFA | Expired | 2023 | 1 | $4,500,000 | $4,500,000 | $3,500,000 | $4,500,000 | 100.0% | $4,500,000 |
| Vikings | UFA | Expired | 2024 | 1 | $10,000,000 | $10,000,000 | $8,750,000 | $10,000,000 | 100.0% | $10,000,000 |
| Seahawks | UFA | Active | 2025 | 3 | $100,500,000 | $33,500,000 | $37,500,000 | $41,500,000 | 41.3% | $41,500,000 |
Earnings By Team
| Team | Yrs | Salary | APY | Paid on Cap | % Paid on Cap | Paid as Dead Money | % Paid as Dead Money |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jets | 3 | $25,733,009 | $8,577,670 | $20,713,428 | 0.0% | $5,019,581 | 0.0% |
| Panthers | 2 | $23,632,685 | $11,816,343 | $23,632,685 | 0.0% | $0 | 0.0% |
| 49ers | 1 | $4,500,000 | $4,500,000 | $6,300,000 | 0.0% | $0 | 0.0% |
| Vikings | 1 | $10,000,000 | $10,000,000 | $5,000,000 | 0.0% | $5,000,000 | 0.0% |
| Seahawks | 1 | $41,500,000 | $41,500,000 | $13,400,000 | 0.0% | $0 | 0.0% |
Season History
| Year | Team | Base Salary | Prorated Bonus | Roster Bonus | Per Game Roster Bonus | Workout Bonus | Other Bonus | Guaranteed Salary | Cap Number | Cap % | Cash Paid | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Jets | $480,000 | $5,019,581 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $480,000 | $5,499,581 | 2.8% | $20,558,324 | ||
| 2019 | Jets | $570,000 | $5,019,581 | $1,284,895 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $1,854,895 | $6,874,476 | 3.4% | $1,854,895 | ||
| 2020 | Jets | $750,000 | $5,019,581 | $2,569,790 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $3,229,790 | $8,339,371 | 4.0% | $3,319,790 | ||
| 2021 | Panthers | $920,000 | $0 | $3,854,685 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $4,604,685 | $4,774,685 | 2.6% | $4,774,685 | ||
| 2022 | Panthers | $18,858,000 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $18,585,000 | $18,858,000 | 8.9% | $18,858,000 | ||
| 2023 | 49ers | $1,900,000 | $1,500,000 | $0 | $1,000,000 | $100,000 | $1,800,000 | $2,000,000 | $6,300,000 | 2.7% | $4,500,000 | ||
| 2024 | Vikings | $2,500,000 | $1,250,000 | $0 | $1,000,000 | $250,000 | $0 | $2,500,000 | $5,000,000 | 1.9% | $10,000,000 | ||
| 2025 | Seahawks | $5,300,000 | $6,400,000 | $0 | $0 | $200,000 | $1,500,000 | $5,500,000 | $13,400,000 | 4.7% | $41,500,000 | ||
| 2026 | Seahawks | $12,300,000 | $6,400,000 | $15,000,000 | $0 | $200,000 | $4,000,000 | $17,500,000 | $37,900,000 | 12.1% | $27,500,000 | ||
| 2027 | Seahawks | $35,500,000 | $6,400,000 | $10,000,000 | $0 | $200,000 | $0 | $0 | $44,900,000 | 13.7% | $35,500,000 | ||
| 2028 | Seahawks | $50,000,000 | $6,400,000 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $12,800,000 | 3.6% | $0 | ||
| 2029 | Seahawks | $50,000,000 | $6,400,000 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | -- | $0 | ||
| Total | $179,078,000 | $49,808,743 | $32,709,370 | $2,000,000 | $950,000 | $7,300,000 | $56,254,370 | $164,646,113 | $168,365,694 | ||||
Statistics
| Year | Games Played | Games Inactive | Snaps | Passing | Rushing | Fumbles | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Offense | Special | Comp/Att | Pct | Yards | TD | INT | Sacked | Rating | Att | Yards | Avg | TD | Total | Lost | |||
| 2018 | 13 | 3 | 80.8% | 0.0% | 239/414 | 57.7% | 2865 | 17 | 15 | 30 | 77.6 | 44 | 138 | 3.1 | 1 | 5 | 2 |
| 2019 | 13 | 3 | 82.4% | 0.0% | 273/441 | 61.9% | 3024 | 19 | 13 | 33 | 84.3 | 33 | 62 | 1.9 | 2 | 11 | 3 |
| 2020 | 12 | 4 | 74.7% | 0.0% | 217/364 | 59.6% | 2208 | 9 | 11 | 35 | 72.7 | 37 | 217 | 5.9 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 2021 | 12 | 0 | 67.1% | 0.0% | 243/406 | 59.9% | 2527 | 9 | 13 | 35 | 71.9 | 48 | 222 | 4.6 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| 2022 | 6 | 1 | 37.1% | 0.0% | 82/140 | 58.6% | 1143 | 7 | 3 | 10 | 92.6 | 26 | 106 | 4.1 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 2023 | 10 | 0 | 12.2% | 0.0% | 28/46 | 60.9% | 297 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 85.1 | 21 | 15 | 0.7 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2024 | 17 | 0 | 99.4% | 0.0% | 361/545 | 66.2% | 4319 | 35 | 12 | 48 | 102.5 | 67 | 212 | 3.2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2025 | 17 | 0 | 95.2% | 0.0% | 323/477 | 67.7% | 4048 | 25 | 14 | 27 | 99.1 | 35 | 95 | 2.7 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Valuation Diamond
The diamond is a scatterplot graph that visualizes the relation of the player's APY (in green) and performance (in blue, as measured by OTC's Valuations) to the rest of the league at his position. To understand how to read the diamond, read this explainer.
| OTC Valuation | APY | |
|---|---|---|
| Regular | $32,608,000 | $33,500,000 |
| Injury Adjusted | $32,608,000 | $33,500,000 |
Weekly Valuation Trends
The chart below illustrates the trend of the player's weekly OTC Valuations (in blue) from the most recent season, using APY (in green) and, if applicable, cash that is due to the player in the next season (in red) as benchmarks. Weeks not plotted indicate that the player was inactive or on a bye.
To see interactive and more in-depth use of OTC Valuation data, subscribe to OTC Premium.