RENTON, Wash. -- Linebacker Leroy Hill is taking a major pay cut to play for the Seattle Seahawks in 2010.
Hill, who is facing a one-game suspension for off-the-field issues, will have a base salary of $2.125 million for this season, according to the NFL Players Association Web site. Hill previously was scheduled to make $6 million in 2010 as part of a six-year deal he signed in April 2009 that could have been worth $38 million.
As part of the restructuring, the remaining years on Hill's contract have been wiped out, making him a free agent following this season.
"That was a situation where ... we had obviously been talking to Leroy through the entire thing," Seahawks general manager John Schneider said Tuesday. "He had a situation that came up, and both sides felt like we could come up with a solution, and (Seahawks VP of football administration) John Idzik and Leroy's representatives did a nice job figuring out a solution for the situation that Leroy was involved with."
Hill will miss the Seahawks' season opener against San Francisco as part of a one-game suspension handed down by the league for his arrest on a marijuana-possession charge in Georgia. He began 12 months of probation for that in April.
Hill, 27, was then arrested on a domestic-violence charge in the Seattle suburb of Issaquah in April. He entered into a stipulated order of continuance at a hearing on his misdemeanor charge of fourth-degree assault/domestic violence Aug. 19. That avoids a trial that could have started this month.
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Issauqah prosecutor Lynn Moberly said the five-year starter for the Seahawks will be on what is essentially probation for 18 months and must complete a one-year, state-certified domestic-violence treatment program -- 26 weeks of weekly therapy and counseling, then monthly sessions for six months -- plus 25 hours of community service. He is also to have no other criminal law violations and possess no weapons during the period.
The only contact he is allowed with his alleged victim is on the telephone, pending his progress in the domestic-violence treatment program and a judge's subsequent review of that limited-contact order.
Hill has missed time during training camp with a sprained knee. Coach Pete Carroll was asked if the restructured deal ensures Hill will be on Seattle's roster when the second week of the season arrives.
"We really like how Leroy plays," Carroll replied. "We're looking forward to Leroy playing for us."
Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press
