On Thursday, April 15th, 2021 the Seattle Seahawks have announced that they have decided to sign the troubled pass rushing specialist and veteran defensive end, Aldon Smith, to a 1 – year contract. The amount of money and the specifics of the agreed upon new deal between the Seattle Seahawks and Smith have not been disclosed to the public at this time, but I can imagine that the contract does not include any guaranteed money in order to protect the organization if Aldon, who has an extremely checkered past, gets suspended or has to be released by the Seattle Seahawks during the 2021 -2022 NFL season. I am guessing that he will earn a modest base salary possibly in combination with player – based incentives that he can earn for his on the field production this year. 

Smith’s Criminal History

In January of 2012 Smith was arrested in Miami Beach, Florida for driving under the influence. Several months later in June of 2012 Aldon was reportedly stabbed while breaking up a fight at a party he hosted at his Santa Clara, California residence, and two other people were shot during this incident. On October 9th, 2013 he was arrested and charged with three felony counts of illegal possession of an assault weapon related to the stabbing incident from the year before. The felony charges from that incident were later reduced to misdemeanors offenses.

In September of 2013 Aldon Smith got in to a single vehicle accident in San Jose, California, and he was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence as well as possession of marijuana. Smith voluntarily admitted himself to a rehabilitation facility as he was placed on the non – football injury list with an indefinite leave of absence from football and the NFL.

In April of 2014 Aldon was arrested due to an incident at the Los Angeles International Airport. In this situation Smith was uncooperative and belligerent with a TSA agent who stated Smith claimed he was carrying a bomb. Although the Los Angeles City Attorney dropped the charges resulting from this episode, the National Football League did suspend Aldon for 9 games during the 2014 – 2015 NFL season.

In August of 2015 Aldon was once again arrested for driving under the influence and vandalism for a hit and run in Santa Clara, California. At this point in his NFL career, he obviously needed help, and the San Francisco 49ers released Smith immediately following this occurrence. In fact, it was the very next day after the arrest. One month later the Oakland Raiders signed Smith to a one – year contract, but on November 17th, 2015 the NFL suspended him for a minimum of one year due to violating the National Football League’s substance abuse policy.

In April of 2016 the Oakland Raiders resigned Smith to a 2 – year contract, but he never played a single game during that new 2 – year agreement with the Oakland Raiders. In July of 2016 Smith checks himself into a rehab facility, and he applies for reinstatement by the NFL in October of 2016 once he left the rehab center. The National Football League denied his request to be reinstated in December of 2016.

Smith’s Legal Troubles Continue

In March of 2017 Smith and a friend were apprehended by the police in San Francisco, California for driving under the influence. Even though Aldon was the passenger in the car, both the driver and him were detained by the police for questioning and released the following day with no arrests made or charges filed revolving around this incident.

In September of 2017 Smith agrees to a plea deal for the hit and run occurrence stemming from the August 2015 arrest. In exchange for the DUI charges being dropped Aldon was sentenced to 20 days in jail, ordered to enter a treatment facility, and attend anger management courses. After his sentence Smith was legally not allowed to enter any bars or establishments where alcohol is the primary commodity being sold.

On March 4th, 2018 someone called the police from Smith’s home to report that Aldon had consumed multiple bottles of tequila and then bit her wrists. Smith fled the scene, but the authorities in San Francisco, California were attempting to locate him in order to question him about the non – lethal domestic violence incident. The following day the Oakland Raiders released Aldon Smith.

On March 6th, 2018 Smith turned himself in to the San Francisco police. He is arrested and charged with willful infliction of corporal injury, assault with force likely to produce injury, false imprisonment and vandalism. On March 23rd, 2018 Aldon is arrested once again this time for violating a court order that stated he was not permitted to contact and stay away from the victim of the domestic violence dispute from earlier in the month. On April 8th, 2018 Smith was arrested for violating the conditions of his bail. Smith’s most recent arrest occurred on June 10th of 2019 when he was booked on suspicion of driving under the influence after a routine traffic stop.

Reinstatement by the National Football League

Smith was suspended indefinitely by the National Football League in 2015 while with the Oakland Raiders. His suspension resulted from multiple violations of the NFL’s substance abuse and personal conduct policies. Following a Thursday, May 14th, 2020 virtual call with the commissioner of the NFL, Roger Goodell, the NFL decided to grant Smith a conditional reinstatement back in to the league.

Last Season with the Dallas Cowboys

Smith signed a one – year contract with the Dallas Cowboys in April of 2020, and that deal could have been worth up to $4 million if the incentives in the agreement were achieved by the troubled and explosive defensive end. Following Aldon’s reinstatement by the NFL in May of 2020, he was allowed participate in all meetings, workouts, team functions, and games with Dallas Cowboys’ coaches and teammates although there was a lot less of that last year due to the COVID – 19 pandemic.

After Aldon made the Dallas Cowboys 53 – man roster he earned a base salary of $910,000 and $40,625 for every time he was on the active game day roster with the Dallas Cowboys. This totaled $650,000 for all 16 weeks of the NFL’s regular season. The incentives built in to his contract last year revolved around his sack totals for 2020 – 2021 NFL season. Smith had the opportunity to earn up to $2 million in additional money for hitting those incentives.

For eight sacks Aldon would have made an additional $500,000, for ten sack he would have gotten $1 million extra, for 12 sacks he would have potentially earned an additional $1.5 million, and he would have hit the $2 million incentive mark if he was somehow able to get to 14 sacks last NFL season. Smith unfortunately only managed to record 5 sacks during the 2020 – 2021 NFL season, but he did miraculously stay out of trouble off the field as well as start all 16 regular season games for the Dallas Cowboys last year. Hopefully Aldon returns back to the player he once was years ago, and he has a monster year for the Seattle Seahawks during the 2021 – 2022 NFL season.

Aldon Smith’s Football Career Achievements, Honors, and Awards

  • PFWA All – Rookie Team (2011)
  • NFL Pro Bowl Selection (2012)
  • NFL First – Team All – Pro (2012)
  • Big 12 Defensive Freshman of the Year (2009)

Odds to Win Super Bowl LVI

 According to Intertops sportsbook these are the odds to win Super Bowl LVI as of Saturday, April 17th, 2021. Currently the Seattle Seahawks have the 11th highest odds to win the upcoming Super Bowl LVI. I would have thought the odds for the Seattle Seahawks to win this season’s NFL Super Bowl would have been higher than this, but that may very well happen in the near future prior to the start of the 2021 – 2022 NFL season.

Team                                                   Odds

Kansas City Chiefs                             +450

Tampa Bay Buccaneers                      +700

Green Bay Packers                             +1000

Buffalo Bills                                       +1100

Los Angeles Rams                              +1200

San Francisco 49ers                            +1400

Baltimore Ravens                               +1800

Indianapolis Colts                               +2000

New Orleans Saints                            +2200

Cleveland Browns                              +2200

Seattle Seahawks                              +2500

Miami Dolphins                                  +2500

New England Patriots                         +2800

Los Angeles Chargers                        +2800

Dallas Cowboys                                  +2800

Tennessee Titans                                +2800

Pittsburgh Steelers                              +3300

Arizona Cardinals                               +3300

Chicago Bears                                     +4000

Minnesota Vikings                             +5000

Carolina Panthers                               +5000

Atlanta Falcons                                   +6600

New York Giants                                +6600

Denver Broncos                                  +6600

Las Vegas Raiders                              +6600

Washington Football Team                +6600

Philadelphia Eagles                            +8000

New York Jets                                    +8000

Jacksonville Jaguars                           +10000

Cincinnati Bengals                             +10000

Houston Texans                                  +15000

Detroit Lions                                       +15000