Seahawks signing Jon Ryan to ceremonial one-day contract

Longtime Seattle Seahawks punter Jon Ryan, who retired less than two years ago, is making a final return to the Seahawks roster. According to Bob Condotta of The Seattle Times, the 42-year-old Ryan is set to sign a one-day contract to officially retire as a member of the Seahawks. Ryan, who served as the Seahawks punter from 2008 to 2017, participated in 159 consecutive regular season games and 14 playoff games, including a Super Bowl victory in the 2013 season.

The Seahawks’ selection of Michael Dickson in 2018, Ryan was released during preseason and later played in the Canadian Football League for the Saskatchewan Roughriders and Edmonton Elks. Despite being the Seahawks’ all-time leader in punting yards, Ryan is best remembered for his memorable fake field goal touchdown pass to Garry Gilliam during the 2014 NFC Championship Game against the Green Bay Packers. This pivotal play sparked the Seahawks’ remarkable comeback from a 16-0 deficit to win 28-22 in overtime.

It would be beneficial to locate Gilliam to ensure his presence at the retirement event. As for Jon’s activities post-retirement, he has been involved in investing in minor league baseball teams, such as the Portland Pickles.

He was always a baseball fan, so he began to consider opportunities to run or own a minor league baseball team, which eventually led him to Alan Miller and the two became the majority owners a year later of the Portland Pickles of the West Coast League, a collegiate summer wooden bat league.

“I didn’t realize I’d play five or six more years,” he said.

Indeed, after his release from the Seahawks he played two seasons with his hometown Saskatchewan Roughriders and one more in Edmonton in 2022.

Ryan and Miller have since bought into two other minor league baseball teams — the Lake County Captains, a team in Eastlake, Ohio, that is a High-A affiliate of the cardinals and the Cleburne (Texas) Railroaders, an independent team, and Dallas Jackals Rugby.

Jon Ryan’s return to the Seahawks roster for a one-day contract to retire as a member of the team will not have any impact on the compensatory draft pick formula. The specifics of his cap hit and its implications for the Seahawks’ long-term plans at the quarterback position are not yet known. Ryan has been keeping busy since his retirement by investing in minor league baseball teams, such as the Portland Pickles.