Eddie Lacy Was Paid To Lose Weight While With The Seattle Seahawks

Published on May 28th, 2022 12:29 pm EST
Written By: Dave Manuel


An athlete getting paid to lose weight?

That is exactly what happened when the Seattle Seahawks signed running back Eddie Lacy to a contract in 2017.

You see, Eddie Lacy was a really good running in his first couple of years in the NFL.

In both 2013 and 2014, Lacy was able to rush for over 1,000 yards while with the Green Bay Packers. In 2013, Lacy found the endzone 11 times and combined for over 1,400 rushing and receiving yards. This performance earned Lacy Offensive Rookie of the Year honors.

As a result, Lacy was one of the most valuable dynasty players at the time. A great running back combined with a great quarterback in Aaron Rodgers? The sky was the limit.

2014 was more of the same, as Lacy rushed for 1,139 yards and added another 427 yards receiving.

Lacy was a star.

In 2015, Lacy's weight started to balloon, and it became a big issue. After playing at around 230 pounds in college, Lacy was reportedly as much as 270 pounds, which is obviously massive for a running back.

His numbers suffered, as Lacy rushed for just 758 yards in 2015. Coach Mike McCarthy said that Lacy needed to slim down.

After losing some weight in the offseason, Lacy played five games with the Packers before suffering an ankle injury.

That was the end of his time in Green Bay, as the team elected to move on.

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In 2017, the Seattle Seahawks signed Lacy to a one year, incentive-laden $2.685 deal that included multiple weight clauses.

In fact, there were seven weight clauses, all of which paid Lacy a total of $55,000 if he hit them. The clauses were:

255 pounds in May
250 pounds in June and August
245 pounds in September, October, November and December

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Lacy was just not effective in Seattle, as he was unable to distinguish himself in a crowded backfield.

In 2017, he played in just 9 games, and rushed for 179 yards and added another 47 through the air.

The Seahawks elected not to re-sign Lacy, and after a failed tryout with the Baltimore Ravens, Lacy was out of the NFL.

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In total, Eddie Lacy made around $6 million during his time in the NFL, though his weight issues cost him a very big contract with the Green Bay Packers.