Darnold is coming off a Super Bowl win last season, but 2026 is hardly a free pass for the veteran, there's plenty to gain.
Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold will enter the new NFL season having vanquished all doubts and narratives that had surrounded him for his entire career.
Seen as a bust, Darnold in 2025, under the guidance of Klint Kubiak and Mike Macdonald, led the Seahawks to a Super Bowl win, while not having a single turnover in the postseason.
That "bust" label is now dead in the water.
But if you were thinking that Darnold's story of NFL redemption is complete, you'd be right...to an extent.
However, there is still plenty the veteran can accomplish now that he's broken free from the "bust" shackles. Looking ahead to 2026, what is there for Sam to gain? He's already climbed to the summit of the NFL.
Well, NFL.com's Grant Gordon, there are a couple of things on the menu for Sam in 2026.
“Sam Darnold authored a storybook tale last season,” Gordon wrote. “Once viewed as a mega bust, Darnold quarterbacked the Seahawks -- his fourth NFL team following the Jets, who used the 2018 NFL Draft's third overall pick on him -- to a Super Bowl title. Darnold seemingly exorcised the ghosts of his past, but he is still only 29 and has plenty to play for.
"He's back with the pressure of defending a championship. Can he provide an encore, earn a lucrative extension and keep Seattle atop the league?”
Defending the Super Bowl is a tough task, and only two teams since 2004 have managed to do it (New England Patriots and Kansas City Chiefs), so we will hardly mark Sam harshly if he fails there.
But perhaps the bigger thread to pull here is what Darnold's future looks like. In the second year of his three-year deal, Sam is set to make just $12.3 million in base salary in 2026 ($37.9 million cap hit), per Over The Cap.
Then in 2027, Darnold's base salary jumps to $35.5 million and his cap hit rises to $44 million. So depending on how his season goes in Seattle, the franchise might look to extend him or cut/trade him, which would save the Seahawks over $35 million next offseason.
So while the "pressure" to defend the Super Bowl is there, but the pressure to perform to extend his stay in Seattle? Yeah, that's a big storyline to watch over the next 12 months.
