Although news surfaced of Russell Wilson‘s April 15 deadline for a new contract, the team was not blindsided by it and thus trying to address this situation at the 11th hour.
The eighth-year Seahawks quarterback provided that date to the team in January, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com reports (on Twitter). Wilson has one season remaining on his four-year, $87.6MM deal. As of February, no new negotiations had commenced, despite Pete Carroll indicating they would in January.
As for what would be next if the Seahawks do not extend Wilson within these next two weeks, the prospect of a franchise tag stands to increase. However, Wilson would not plan a holdout if tagged in 2020, with Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reporting (video link) the decorated passer would sign his franchise tender soon after.
Despite the possibility for acrimony here, the Seahawks would also like to get a deal done by Wilson’s deadline, Mike Garafolo of NFL.com notes (video link). The Seahawks, who have begun negotiations with Bobby Wagner and franchised Frank Clark last month, begin their offseason program April 15.
This may well be a negotiating tactic by Wilson’s side, with the 30-year-old franchise cornerstone signing his current contract late in the 2015 offseason. But Wilson has a bit more leverage this time around, having earned more than $60MM on his current deal compared to having played on a third-round rookie salary from 2012-14.
In 2018, Wilson expected a scenario of being franchised in 2020. The quarterback tag was worth just less than $25MM this year. Wilson in that price neighborhood would be quite reasonable, obviously, given what he’s worth to the Seahawks. Wilson piloted the Seahawks to another playoff berth last season, doing so when few expected the team to be playing in January. He is now the organization’s unquestioned centerpiece, which was not necessarily the case in 2015 — when the Seahawks’ defense housed Pro Bowlers Wagner, Earl Thomas, Richard Sherman and Kam Chancellor. Only Wagner and K.J. Wright remain from those Super Bowl units.
When Wilson signed his current deal, he was the NFL’s second-highest-paid quarterback. Due to the seismic shifts in a previously stagnant market, the signal-caller salary landscape looks quite different now. Wilson is the 11th-highest-paid passer. Any new deal would almost certainly have to eclipse $30MM AAV, which Aaron Rodgers and Matt Ryan did via 2018 extensions, but likely would make Wilson the game’s highest-paid player.
Dudes gonna get paid big time!
Probably, but you still have to be realistic and not assume you can force management to their knees with your leverage. We could list dozens of players that thought they were indispensable to their team but learned otherwise.
It’s a qb driven league. If you don’t have a qb, you can’t win. Wilson will get paid big. The other guys you’re referring to aren’t qbs I would guess
You would think a QB with 2 rings would be indispensable and have plenty of contract leverage but Joe Flacco is a perfect example of how quickly circumstances can change. The reality is that everyone can be replaced.
Joe Flacco a perfect example of how “quickly” circumstances can change? It rook four years of poor to mediocre play, four seasons since his last playoff appearance, five seasons since he signed his budget-busting contract and six seasons since he got his one ring (not “two”) for the Ravens to finally cut the cord. If anything, Joe Flacco is a perfect example of how slowly circumstances can change for a quarterback.
Kirk Cousins’ circumstances also took a few years to change, what with the two Franchise Tags, but he does prove your original point that a player in the NFL cannot “assume you can force management to their knees with your leverage.”
He should not sign any contract expect 3 franchise tag deals. He could conceivably bring the QB market tag to around $40m annually by doing that. Plus he’d only be 33-34 and could do another 3 year deal taking him to his late 30’s.
Really a non story unless this year. Still got him for a while thanks to the tag system.
Horrible advice, he’s willing to play on 1 tag but certainly not 3. I’m calling it his next extension will be 5/175 (35M average) or close to it.
Not worth that kind of money imo. Look at how Flacco’s contract killed the Ravens, and they need a small rebuild anyways. Tag em and trade him
They’ve already extended Wilson onnce and done fine, not great as they were before though.
Win with Flynn….