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It appears the Seahawks and fantasy football owners are getting the resolution both wanted: Marshawn Lynch has decided to return to the NFL and has agreed to a new contract with the Seahawks, a sourced told ESPN's Adam Schefter.

Lynch was reportedly on his way to Seattle, where he will meet with Seahawks owner Paul Allen and is expected to sign the deal.

CBSSports.com's Jason La Canfora, citing league sources, first reported on Feb. 22 that Lynch had a new deal in place with the Seahawks. This followed a Yahoo! Sports report indicating an offer was on the table.

The Yahoo report indicated the deal would include $12 million in the first year and $9 million in the second year with La Canfora adding that Seattle is aware that Lynch may retire after the 2015 season.

There were concerns that chronic back issues would be a major factor in Lynch's decision-making.

The hard-running veteran has compressed cartilage in his back, a condition that will not heal and can get worse as a result of Lynch's punishing running style. Lynch's back caused him considerable problems this past season. According to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, it explained why he made the unusual decision to remain on the sideline while his teammates went to the locker room during halftime of Seattle's loss to the Chiefs in November.

The game was played in freezing temperatures and Lynch feared his back would tighten up to the extent that he wouldn't be able to play if he went into the locker room. I'll also remind you the last game Lynch missed (the only game he's missed as a Seahawk), came against Cleveland in 2011 when he was a last-minute scratch after the back flared up in pre-game warmups.

Lynch has rushed for no less than 1,200 yards in each of his past four seasons with the Seahawks and has been instrumental in the franchise's appearance in consecutive Super Bowls.

Last season, Lynch set a career-high with 17 touchdowns (13 rushing, 4 receiving) and his 1306 yards on 289 carries left him with a 4.7-yard per carry average that was the second-best of his career. His 37 receptions were also second-best in his career.

General manager John Schneider recently told reporters that he has confidence in Robert Turbin and Christine Michael taking on the load if Lynch called it quits. "I like both of those guys, they just haven't had a ton of opportunities yet," Schneider said.

The reason they haven't is Lynch.

I'll be following up on this one in coming days (I'll certainly have the official confirmation of his return in the News & Views section of the site), but it now it appears he'll continue to dominate Seattle's backfield for another year.