Weren't we Allen's first visit? Weren't we Melton's first visit? Weren't we Finley's first visit? Seattle is definitely THE destination, the only question is if the players reach that destination or not. When Harvin was dealt here, you could see the happiness in his eyes, and that was before we won a SB.
I personally don't think we lost Allen because of money. First, we have no proof of what Seattle offered Allen. It could very well be that they had a four year deal on the table that was in the vicinity of what Chicago offered. They made a hard push for Allen at least once, possibly twice, so it doesn't sound to me like they low-balled him. Second, I think Allen's wanting to climb the career sack ladder was his #1 priority, which is understandable. Staying fresh is great and all that, but if you just want counting stats like sacks then you want more reps. It's just a simple fact, you will get more sacks playing 91% vs. 58%.
Of course, money is always a factor, as it should be. I don't think any free agent wanted to be a Seahawk worse than Golden Tate, and he wouldn't accept a 40% discount to stay here.