Seahawks exact revenge on Vikes

The Seattle Seahawks offered to trade their third-round draft choice to Minnesota for receiver Nate Burleson. The Vikings demanded a second-round pick for the restricted free agent.

That’s when things got out of hand. The Seahawks, still smarting from the disputed tactics Minnesota used in luring away Seattle guard Steve Hutchinson, offered Burleson a deal the Vikings almost certainly will not match.

As a result, the 24-year-old Burleson is expected to become a Seahawk within the week. Minnesota has seven days to match an offer that includes a double dose of the “poison-pill” medicine that dissuaded Seattle from matching the Hutchinson offer.

Burleson’s contract, all seven years and $49 million of it, will become guaranteed if he plays a certain number of games, believed to be five, within the borders of Minnesota.

A second clause guarantees the deal if Burleson’s per-year compensation exceeds what his team pays its running backs. Seattle’s Shaun Alexander possesses a higher per-year average, while the Vikings have no running backs close to that pay scale.

The Seahawks had sought to sign Burleson to a five-year, nearly $15 million deal contingent on the Vikings trading him to Seattle.

But when Minnesota demanded a second-round pick in return, the Seahawks exacted poetic justice by slipping the poisonous clauses into an offer sheet they backloaded to match Hutchinson’s in length and total value, if not substance.

The offer Minnesota made to Hutchinson included a clause guaranteeing the contract if he wasn’t the highest-paid offensive lineman on his team in 2006. The offer put the Seahawks in a tough position because Walter Jones, their six-time Pro Bowl tackle, was earning $7.5 million per year. The Vikings had no offensive lineman near that level, meaning only Seattle would have had to guarantee the deal.

The Seahawks contested the unusual clause, but an impartial “special master” ruled in favor of the Vikings and Hutchinson became a Viking.

Seattle must compensate Minnesota with a 2006 third-round draft choice for the restricted free agent.

In other Seahawks moves:

“Fullback Mack Strong will be back for his 14th season after signing a multiyear deal.

“Defensive tackle Russell Davis and tight end Will Heller were signed to multiyear deals.

“Former New England Patriots tackle Tom Ashworth has reached agreement with on a $13 million, five-year contract.