Rayshawn Jenkins' Decision to Sign With Seattle Seahawks Goes Beyond Football

Rayshawn Jenkins chose the Seattle Seahawks over an NFC West rival this offseason and multiple factors went into his decision, including a big financial discrepancy.

Jacksonville Jaguars safety Rayshawn Jenkins (2) runs on the field before an NFL football matchup Sunday, Nov. 19, 2023 at EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville, Fla. The Jacksonville Jaguars defeated the Tennessee Titans 34-14. [Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union] / Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union / USA

After being released by the Jacksonville Jaguars in March, Rayshawn Jenkins had two teams vying for his services as free agency kicked off.

Those two teams were a pair of NFC West rivals - the Seattle Seahawks and the San Francisco 49ers. On paper, the 49ers, fresh off a Super Bowl LVIII appearance, seem like the more complete team, and the one better equipped to contend for a title. However, Jenkins instead chose to sign with the Seahawks, catching some off guard.

Oct 8, 2023; London, United Kingdom; Jacksonville Jaguars safety Rayshawn Jenkins (2) leaves the field after an NFL International Series game against the Buffalo Bills at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Peter van den Berg-USA TODAY Sports / Peter van den Berg-USA TODAY Sports

Why? While there were football factors at play and he considered both teams to be contenders, Jenkins revealed on Thursday that it was actually a variable completely unrelated to football that pushed him to sign with Seattle.

"I felt like Seattle was the perfect place. Plenty of opportunity," Jenkins told reporters at Wednesday's open OTA practice. "I'm going into a team with a head coach that's defensive-minded and quite frankly out of San Francisco and Seattle, the taxes as well. So I had to think about that."

Interestingly, Jenkins first met with the Seahawks to begin his free agency tour and left without signing a contract, flying south to meet with the 49ers. While other teams remained interested, he opted to turn down visits elsewhere and with the financial offer the same, he opted for the contract that would allow him to keep the most money.

"I had two more visits set up, but Seattle called, made an offer," Jenkins explained. "They [the 49ers] matched it obviously, but going back to those taxes, I was like, I'm going out here."

If the two teams' offers were truly identical, then it makes perfect sense for Jenkins to choose Seattle over San Francisco. Washington has no state income tax (except for capital gains income), while California has by far the highest state income tax in the United State at 13.3 percent.

That's not to discount the on-field factors that played into Jenkins' decision. With the Seahawks, Jenkins will get to play for a young, defensive-minded coach in Mike Macdonald, undoubtedly an attractive selling point. Seattle's secondary is one of the strongest areas of the roster, so Jenkins will have a solid supporting cast around him, and a talented offense led by Geno Smith and DK Metcalf could keep the team in the thick of the NFC West race deep into the season.

Helping fill the void left by the departures of Quandre Diggs and Jamal Adams, Macdonald and the Seahawks understandably are quite very happy to have signed Jenkins, as not only did they get a very underrated safety with positional versatility, but they kept him away from a bitter division rival as well in the process.