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As first reported by ESPN’s Adam Schefter, free agent quarterback Matt Flynn has signed a three-year, $26 million deal, $10 million of which is guaranteed.

The Seahawks have confirmed the deal.

Flynn becomes the third quarterback the Seahawks have acquired under coach Pete Carroll and general manager John Schneider. It's also clearly the largest investment they have made in a quarterback as Tarvaris Jackson and Charlie Whitehurst were signed to two-year contracts.

He’ll certainly make more than Jackson, who is in the final year of a two-year deal that will pay him $4 million in base salary in 2012.

But Jackson also has a year as the starter and six total years in the system that Seahawks offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell uses.

And as Seattle Times staffer Danny O'Neil pointed out, while the total is $26 million, the so-called guaranteed portion -- the chunk the player is assured of earning -- is not significantly more than the $8 million commitments Seattle made to Jackson and the now-departed Whitehurst.

So, Flynn will likely have to "beat out" Jackson for the job this offseason -- much like the Seahawks "beat out" Miami for Flynn's services.

The latter aspect of the story prompted Profootballtalk.com's Mike Florio to write: "The Dolphins under owner Stephen Ross not long ago seemed to be like a large man with a big bat who simply couldn’t connect on a high and tight fastball. Now, perhaps the better comparison is a little kid swinging a cracked broom at a piñata that is hanging too high for him to reach."

Despite the presence of Jackson, Flynn chose Seattle over a reunion with former Packers offensive coordinator Joe Philbin, now the head coach with the Dolphins.

Flynn has started only two games in his NFL career, but he set Green Bay franchise records by passing for 480 yards and six touchdowns in the Packers’ 2011 regular-season finale. Flynn, 26, was the Packers’ seventh-round draft choice in 2008, when Schneider also was with the team.

Stay tuned on this one. ... I'll be watching for more in coming days. After all, it's possible -- perhaps even likely -- Flynn was brought in "be the starter" rather than "to compete for the starting job." It's a big difference.

Meanwhile, Flynn's signing in Seattle puts the Dolphins in a bind. As Florio suggests, their best bet now will be to acquire the starter that gets bumped by Peyton Manning: Alex Smith, Tim Tebow or Matt Hasselbeck.

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UPDATE: According to CBSSports insider Pat Kirwan, head coach Pete Carroll said Flynn will compete with Jackson for the starting job.