Nick Bellore, the Seahawks' special teams captain/linebacker/fullback/comedian, is coming back for another two seasons, having signed a two-year contract extension on Wednesday.
For Bellore, continuing his career with the Seahawks was an easy decision.
"Before I was here, this was always where I wanted to end up, just because you hear the lore of being here, then finally getting here and being around everybody in the building, there's no other place I'd want to be," he said after signing. "To be here late in my career has been incredible."
Bellore, who first joined the Seahawks in 2019, will be playing his 13th season in 2023, an impressive career for a former undrafted free agent out of Central Michigan. A Pro-Bowl selection as a special teams player in 2020, Bellore has been Seattle's special teams captain each of the past two seasons, and led the Seahawks in special teams tackles last year with 14 while playing a team-high 75.5 percent of Seattle's special teams snaps, and in 2021 he led the team with 15 special teams tackles.
In addition to his playmaking on special teams, Bellore has also proven versatile, playing both fullback and linebacker for the Seahawks, while also providing leadership on the field and in the locker room, and an unmatched sense of humor in the locker room and in press conferences, as well as on his Between Two Bellores interviews with teammates.
Bellore also rushed for 3 yards on one carry last season, his second-best rushing season behind his one carry, 5-yard performance in 2020.
"He's just everything to everybody," Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said after Bellore was selected by his teammates as a captain. "Playmaking, play style, mentality, all of that."
With Bellore helping lead the way, the Seahawks have been one of the NFL's best special teams performers in recent years, ranking No. 2 overall in Rick Gosselin's annual special teams rankings, which uses where teams finish in 22 statistical categories to determine their ranking. It was the third straight season the Seahawks have had a Top 3 finish in Gosselin's rankings.
For Bellore, who will turn 34 later this spring, continuing his career for a 13th season was never in question so long as the Seahawks wanted to bring him back.
"I feel as good as I've ever felt, and I'm ready to play as long as my body and a team will allow me to," he said. "If I felt like things were starting to go, I wouldn't do it, because I don't want to go out there just to go out there. I want to stay at the level I've been playing at the last couple of years, and continue to improve, which I think I can still do. Obviously on paper I'm quite old—and in reality, probably—but it was never a question that I was done."
Take a look back at some of the best photos of Seahawks linebacker Nick Bellore from the 2022 season.
The best photos of Seahawks linebacker Nick Bellore from the 2022 season.
The best photos of Seahawks linebacker Nick Bellore from the 2022 season.
The best photos of Seahawks linebacker Nick Bellore from the 2022 season.
The best photos of Seahawks linebacker Nick Bellore from the 2022 season.
The best photos of Seahawks linebacker Nick Bellore from the 2022 season.
The best photos of Seahawks linebacker Nick Bellore from the 2022 season.
The best photos of Seahawks linebacker Nick Bellore from the 2022 season.
The best photos of Seahawks linebacker Nick Bellore from the 2022 season.
The best photos of Seahawks linebacker Nick Bellore from the 2022 season.
The best photos of Seahawks linebacker Nick Bellore from the 2022 season.
The best photos of Seahawks linebacker Nick Bellore from the 2022 season.
The best photos of Seahawks linebacker Nick Bellore from the 2022 season.
The best photos of Seahawks linebacker Nick Bellore from the 2022 season.
The best photos of Seahawks linebacker Nick Bellore from the 2022 season.
The best photos of Seahawks linebacker Nick Bellore from the 2022 season.
The best photos of Seahawks linebacker Nick Bellore from the 2022 season.
The best photos of Seahawks linebacker Nick Bellore from the 2022 season.
The best photos of Seahawks linebacker Nick Bellore from the 2022 season.
The best photos of Seahawks linebacker Nick Bellore from the 2022 season.
The best photos of Seahawks linebacker Nick Bellore from the 2022 season.
The best photos of Seahawks linebacker Nick Bellore from the 2022 season.
The best photos of Seahawks linebacker Nick Bellore from the 2022 season.
The best photos of Seahawks linebacker Nick Bellore from the 2022 season.
The best photos of Seahawks linebacker Nick Bellore from the 2022 season.
The best photos of Seahawks linebacker Nick Bellore from the 2022 season.
The best photos of Seahawks linebacker Nick Bellore from the 2022 season.
The best photos of Seahawks linebacker Nick Bellore from the 2022 season.
The best photos of Seahawks linebacker Nick Bellore from the 2022 season.
The best photos of Seahawks linebacker Nick Bellore from the 2022 season.
The best photos of Seahawks linebacker Nick Bellore from the 2022 season.
The best photos of Seahawks linebacker Nick Bellore from the 2022 season.
The best photos of Seahawks linebacker Nick Bellore from the 2022 season.
The best photos of Seahawks linebacker Nick Bellore from the 2022 season.
The best photos of Seahawks linebacker Nick Bellore from the 2022 season.
The best photos of Seahawks linebacker Nick Bellore from the 2022 season.
The best photos of Seahawks linebacker Nick Bellore from the 2022 season.
The best photos of Seahawks linebacker Nick Bellore from the 2022 season.
The best photos of Seahawks linebacker Nick Bellore from the 2022 season.
The best photos of Seahawks linebacker Nick Bellore from the 2022 season.
