The Seattle Seahawks have extended the contract of Executive VP/General Manager John Schneider, team owner Paul Allen announced. 

Schneider, the key architect behind the club's most successful run in franchise history, was entering the final year of his contract. Sunday evening's deal ensures he'll remain in the Pacific Northwest through 2016 and beyond.

In the six seasons with Schneider and his personnel staff at the helm, Seattle has made five playoff appearances, claimed three NFC West crowns, two conference championships, and appeared in back-to-back Super Bowls, winning Super Bowl XLVIII to take home the team's first Lombardi Trophy. Since 2012, the Seahawks have advanced to at least the divisional round of the playoffs and won 46 regular-season games, most in the NFC. 

Working closely alongside head coach Pete Carroll, Schneider has assembled one of the NFL's most deep and talented rosters. The pair has shown a willingness and creativity to acquire players through the draft, trade, and free agency, using all avenues to find Pro Bowl caliber talent. After having no players selected to the NFL's annual all-star game from 2009-10, Carroll and Schneider's roster has seen 13 different players selected from 2011-15, including free safety Earl Thomas, running back Marshawn Lynch, strong safety Kam Chancellor, quarterback Russell Wilson, left tackle Russell Okung, center Max Unger, cornerbacks Brandon Browner and Richard Sherman, fullback Michael Robinson, defensive end Michael Bennett, linebacker Bobby Wagner, and return specialists Leon Washington and Tyler Lockett, all of whom except Unger were added via draft, trade, or free agency after Carroll and Schneider took over. The pair has also made critical moves to stabilize the Seahawks' core group of contributors, extending contracts or creating new deals for players like Baldwin, Bennett, Chancellor, Sherman, Wagner, Wilson, defensive end Cliff Avril, wideout Jermaine Kearse, cornerback Jeremy Lane, defensive tackle Ahtyba Rubin, and linebacker K.J. Wright, actions that should keep Seattle competitive for years to come.

"It just never stops," Schneider said in 2015. "That was one of the things that Pete and I talked about right when we got here was that we were going to try to be out front and doing it better than anybody's done before - I know you've heard Pete say that a lot, but it's real. It's about competition and it's about not ever being complacent. … Nothing ends, especially in this business. If you're complacent in this business, you'll lose your job."