He was involved of one of the largest scams in the last 10 years in the NFL. Just weeks after their Super Bowl loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2006, for reasons still yet unknown to the city and fans of the Seattle, Seahawks management (GM Tim Ruskell) did not make signing All-Pro guard Steve Hutchinson a priority and instead let him go flirting with other teams in free agency. The Minnesota Vikings, not believing in the concept of karma, quickly signed Hutch to a morally questionable (but legal at the time) “poison pill” contract making it basically impossible for the Seahawks to match. Days later the Seahawks struck back with an identical offer to Vikings’ free agent, Nate Burleson.
Let’s break this one down quickly. Burleson was coming off a 328-yard, 30-catch, injury-riddled season in 2005, while Hutch, at the time, was a 2-time first team All-Pro and 3-time Pro-Bowl OG.
The ‘hawks got exactly what they deserved. Burleson has treated “Seattle’s Best” to 73 catches, 946 yards and 12 TDs… in three seasons. Yummy. Hutch’s three All-Pro 1st team selections on the Vikings have Ruskell feeling like William Macy in Boogie Nights:
