Despite many predictions that Seattle and star quarterback Russell Wilson wouldn’t reach an extension before his self-imposed deadline at the start of training camp, the two sides were able to find common ground and agree to a new deal today.
Signing quarterbacks to contract extensions is one of the hardest aspects of general managers’ jobs.
The market for any decent quarterback is extremely high and teams essentially have to pay their quarterback this high number, as they know quarterback needy teams would do it in a split second. Losing a franchise quarterback in their prime would severely set back a franchise and finding a new one is much easier said than done.
All along, it was known that the 26-year old Wilson was going to become one of the highest-paid quarterbacks in the league, if not the highest paid. This is what occurs when you lead your team to two Super Bowls in your first three seasons.
With a four-year contract extension worth $87.6 million, he becomes the second-highest paid quarterback in the league. Aaron Rodgers earns $22 million per season and Wilson will earn $21.9 million per season.
This number is far off the $25 million that Wilson once talked about in an interview. If this was what he was truly aiming for, he had to know this was never going to happen.
Seattle didn’t appear to want to make him the highest-paid player in the league, as he has yet to carry a team by himself. It can’t be denied that Seattle’s defense and run game are at the top of the NFL.
In order to reach an agreement, the two sides had to work out a compromise.
Wilson got about as close as possible to Rodgers’ mark without breaking it. This number is a win for Seattle, as there were plenty of expectations that Wilson would break $22 million.
Despite not becoming the highest-paid player in the NFL, Wilson was still able to walk away from the negotiating table as a winner. By signing only a four-year contract, he is going to hit free agency again while in his prime. Most younger quarterbacks have signed six-year extensions. By signing for less years, Wilson is going to be able to cash in on another massive contract during his career.
All offseason there was talk about whether the Seahawks and Wilson would reach a contract extension before the start of the season and now we finally have the answer.
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