Steve Hutchinson (American football)

Infobox NFLactive


name=Steve Hutchinson
currentteam=Minnesota Vikings
currentnumber=76
currentpositionplain=Offensive guard
birthdate=birth date and age|1977|11|1
birthplace=Fort Lauderdale, Florida
heightft=6
heightin=5
weight=313
debutyear=2001
debutteam=Seattle Seahawks
highlights=
* 5x Pro Bowl selection (2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007)
* 5x All-Pro selection (2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007)
college=Michigan
draftyear=2001
draftround=1
draftpick=17
pastteams=
* Seattle Seahawks (2001-2005)
* Minnesota Vikings (2006-"present")
statweek=17
statseason=2007
statlabel1=Games played
statvalue1=100
statlabel2=Games started
statvalue2=100
statlabel3=Fumbles Recovered
statvalue3=3
nfl=HUT173616

Steven J. Hutchinson (born November 1, 1977 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida) is a National Football League offensive lineman for the Minnesota Vikings. He is regarded as one of the best guards in football.

High school and college career

He attended and graduated from Coral Springs High School in 1996. In 2007 he was named to FHSAA's All-Century Team that listed the Top 33 football players in the state of Florida's 100 year history of high school football.

and then the University of Michigan, where he excelled as a four year starter, two year captain, four year All-Big Ten selection, two-time All-American selection, Big Ten Offensive Lineman of the Year winner, and Outland Trophy finalist. As a freshman, he started on the 1997 Michigan team that won the National Championship.

NFL career

Drafted in the first round of the 2001 NFL Draft by the Seattle Seahawks, Hutchinson spent his first five seasons with that team. In March 2006, Hutchinson, a free agent, was designated as Seattle's transition player. He then signed a controversial offer sheet from the Vikings, for $49 million over seven years, believed to be the richest contract ever offered a guard. The offer sheet, though, contained a poison pill provision that would have guaranteed his entire salary if he was not the highest-paid lineman on the team.

NFL rules require that when a team uses its transition tag on a player, they must either exactly match a competing offer sheet or relinquish their rights to that player. While the tag is unlikely to be triggered during his time with the Vikings (which means he is unlikely to see the entire $49 million), the Seahawks had recently given tackle Walter Jones a contract richer than the one offered to Hutchinson. Thus, they would have triggered the "poison pill" clause immediately, and would have been forced, by NFL rules, to guarantee Hutchinson's entire salary. Since doing so would have destroyed their salary cap, they could not match the offer. Moreover, since they only used their transition tag, rather than naming Hutchinson a franchise player, they received no compensation from Minnesota for their loss. Seattle retaliated, though, by signing Minnesota wide receiver Nate Burleson to an offer sheet containing a similar ploy. These contracts prompted criticism of the legality of this maneuver, but no action has been taken to ban such clauses from contracts.

External links

* [http://www.nfl.com/players/stevehutchinson/profile?id=HUT173616 NFL.com profile]
* [http://bentley.umich.edu/athdept/football/fballam/aahutchs.htm University of Michigan profile]