Golden Tate Signs Five-Year Deal with Detroit Lions
By Todd Pheifer
Jan 19, 2014; Seattle, WA, USA; Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Golden Tate (81) celebrates after the 2013 NFC Championship football game against the San Francisco 49ers at CenturyLink Field. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports
Golden Tate will not be re-signing with the Seattle Seahawks. Instead, Tate is going to take the money and run…all the way to the Detroit Lions.
This is not a shocking development, mostly because the Lions were willing to go five years.
Tate could get as much as $31 million, though only $13.25 million of the contract is actually guaranteed. It will be interesting to see whether Tate will actually play through the entire contract.
It may never be known what happened behind the scenes, but if I were a betting man (which I am not), I would guess that the Seahawks offered four years. The fifth year may have been the deciding factor for the 25-year-old Tate.
Loyalty is certainly an admirable quality, but this is business. When you are in Tate’s position, there are only so many opportunities to make some cash. The NFL can be an unforgiving league for veteran players, so this is the time to maximize earning power.
We will analyze how this impacts the Seahawks in the coming days, but it may be that Pete Carroll was preparing for this possibility. Something tells me that the Seahawks will be able to find someone who can fill the void.
The Seahawks retaining Michael Bennett, but Golden Tate will not be sticking around. Thanks for your contributions, Mr. Tate. I don’t think you will be contending for a Super Bowl next year in Detroit.