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‘Why Not Us’ Mentality Helps Seattle Seahawks Produce First Super Bowl Championship

The Super Bowl was full of memorable moments and New York/New Jersey provided a great platform for the Seattle Seahawks to showcase its talents. The Seahawks once again demonstrated that a superior defense does win championships. However, the Seahawks’ playoff success runs much deeper than its flashy neon-uniforms, outspoken leaders, and 12th man. Most noteworthy is the Seahawks strong team bond and its player makeup, which is best exemplified by its “why not us” mentality. The Seahawks have a starting roster full of late-round draft picks and undrafted free agents. In fact, Doug Baldwin and Jermaine Kearse went undrafted and both scored touchdowns in Super Bowl XLVIII. Below is a breakdown of some of the Super Champion Seahawks’ starting roster to better explore its team makeup.

OFFENSE

Player

Position

College

Contract

Drafted

Agent

Russell Wilson

QB

Wisconsin

4 year/ $2,996,702

(UFA: 2016)

2012: Round 3 (75th)

Mark Rodgers

Frontline Athlete Management

Marshawn Lynch

RB

California

4 year/ $30,000,000

(UFA: 2016)

2007: Round 1 (12th)

Doug Hendrickson

Octagon Football

Percy Harvin

WR

Florida

6 year/ $64,245,000

(UFA: 2019)

2009: Round 1 (22nd)

Joel Segal

Lagardere Unlimited

Doug Baldwin

WR

Stanford

3 year/ $1,412,500

(RFA: 2014)

2011:

Undrafted

Buddy Baker

Exclusive Sports Group

Golden Tate

WR

Notre Dame

4 year/ $3,411,500

(UFA: 2014)

2010: Round 2 (60th)

Todd France

France All Pro Athlete Management

Zach Miller

TE

Arizona State

5 year/ $34,000,000

(UFA: 2016)

2007: Round 2 (38th)

CAA

Russell Okung

LT

Oklahoma State

6 year/ $48,500,000

(UFA: 2016)

2010: Round 1 (6th)

Peter Schaffer

Authentic Athletix

James

Carpenter

LG

Alabama

4 year/ $7,641,502

(UFA: 2015)

2011: Round 1 (25th)

Priority Sports

Max Unger

C

Oregon

4 year/ $25,835,000

(UFA: 2017)

2009: Round 2 (49th)

Stephen Dubin, Donald Yee, Carter Chow

Yee & Dubin Sports

J.R. Sweezy

RG

NC State

4 years/ $2,156,848

(UFA: 2016)

2012: Round 7 (225th)

James Gould

mgmt one

Breno Giacomini

RT

Louisville

2 year/ $6,500,000

(UFA: 2014)

2008: Round 5 (150th)

SportsStars

DEFENSE

Player

Position

College

Contract

Drafted

Agent

Red Bryant

 

DE

Texas A&M

5 year/ $35,100,000

(UFA: 2017)

2008: Round 4 (121st)

Unknown

Tony McDaniel

 

DT

Tennessee

1 year/ $890,000

(UFA: 2014)

2006:

Undrafted

Drew Rosenhaus

Rosenhaus Sports Representation

Brandon Mebane

 

DT

California

5 year/ $25,000,000

(UFA: 2016)

2007: Round 3 (85th)

Chuck Price

Prestige Football

Cliff Avril

 

DE

Purdue

2 year/ $13,000,000

(UFA: 2015)

2008: Round 3 (92nd)

SportsStars

Bobby Wagner

 

MLB

Utah State

4 year/ $4,307,798

(UFA: 2016)

2012: Round 2 (47th)

Formerly

Priority Sports

Malcolm Smith

 

ROLB

USC

4 year/ $2,085,900

(UFA: 2015)

2011: Round 7 (242nd)

Premier Sports & Entertainment

Richard Sherman

 

LCB

Stanford

4 year/ $2,222,424

(UFA: 2015)

2011: Round 5 (154th)

Jamie Fritz

Fritz Martin Management

Byron Maxwell

 

RCB

Clemson

4 year/ $2,153,452

(UFA: 2015)

2011: Round 6 (173rd)

SportsStars

Kam Chancellor

 

SS

VA Tech

4 year/ $28,002,008

(UFA: 2018)

2010: Round 5 (133rd)

Business Arena

Earl Thomas

 

FS

Texas

5 year/ $18,300,000

(UFA: 2015)

2010: Round 1 (14th)

Brian Murphy, David Dunn

Athletes First