[Alberta's Child]

I never understood why an NFL team — especially in the salary cap era — would spend an exorbitant amount of money on a player at a position where careers are notoriously short.

[Diplomat]

Because the yearly salaries are not guaranteed. Shawn no longer gets paid the big money now that he has been cut. Seattle, and Shawn himself, probably knew at the time that the odds were heavily against him being physically able to play out that contract. Hence the importance of the signing bonus and the guaranteed initial payment(s).

[SeaHawkFan]

Part of his signing bonus was really a reward for the years he was considerably under paid. RBs that have a power style of running and take lots of hits don’t last long.