Michael Bennett Confirms He’s Asked Seahawks For New Deal, Wants To Be Paid As A Top-8 DE

Seahawks DE Michael Bennett confirmed that he has asked the team for a new contract duringย a dinner in for his foundation Friday night.

โ€œTrying to get the contract right,โ€™โ€™ said Bennett, when asked about skipping theย first three OTAs this week, via Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times. โ€œIโ€™ll be there shortly. I donโ€™t know when Iโ€™ll be there. Depends on the team and stuff. See how it works out.โ€™โ€™

As far as what he’s looking for in terms of his next contract, Bennett said that he would like to be paid as a top-eight defensive end.

โ€œSomewhere near the top seven at my position, top eight at my position,โ€™โ€™ Bennett said. โ€œNot a lot of guys play inside and out (meaning both tackle and end). Not a lot of guys do what I do. So I feel like I should be somewhere near there.โ€™โ€™

If Seattle were toย acquiesce Bennett’s request of being paid in the top eight players at his position, they’re looking at paying him an annual salary of around $10 million.

Bennett added that he still sees himself playing for the season, but is still hoping to come away with a raise.

โ€œI see myself being with the Seahawks,โ€™โ€™ Bennett said. โ€œI think we have something special here and the things that we do in the community, the players that we have and the team and the coaches. I think itโ€™s a great organization. But at the end of the day, itโ€™s all about the business part of it, and sometimes people see your value as something else and sometimes you see your value as something different, and itโ€™s just part of the business.

โ€œ. โ€ฆ Weโ€™ll see what happens. The ideal situation would be that I get a raise and that will be something great.โ€™โ€™

Bennett, 29, signedย four-year, $32 million contract that included $16 million guaranteed with the Seahawks in March of last year. He still has another three years remaining on the agreement to go along with base salaries ofย $6 million (2015),ย $4 million (2016), andย $6 million (2017).

In 2014, Bennett appeared in all 16 games and recorded 39 tackles, seven sacks, and a forced fumble.ย Pro Football Focus has him rated as the No. 2 defensive end in a 4-3 defenseย out of 59ย qualifying players.

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