Russell Wilson’s Contract Was Once Considered The Worst in NFL History
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He’s a franchise quarterback with a Super Bowl to his name as well as NFL Man of the Year and a nine-time Pro Bowler. But Russell Wilson’s contract was once seen as one of the worst deals in the sport’s history, thanks to his disappointing performances when he joined the Denver Broncos.
When the Seahawks drafted Wilson in April 2012, the then-University of Wisconsin QB had been the most accomplished in college football despite his height. Standing at 5’ 11”, this was often talked about as being a disadvantage as the average quarterback height is 6’ 3”. Wilson was the 75th pick overall and sixth selected quarterback behind Andrew Luck, Robert Griffin III, Ryan Tannehill, Brandon Weeden, and Brock Osweiler, and only Tannehill out of those five remains active in the league as of the 2023 season.
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“The only responsibility on my shoulders is to try to love unconditionally and try to share that and to try to make the world a better place,” Wilson told Men’s Journal in 2019. “By serving and giving back to others. I think that’s really the opportunity that God is giving me.” He’s also optimistic, sometimes to a fault, and has been compared to the character of Ted Lasso when it comes to improving the culture at his new team, per The Ringer.
“I’m just trying to raise their expectations and to raise ours,” Wilson said in an interview after a Broncos practice. “Our expectations have to be higher than anybody else’s. People are going to doubt us throughout the season, people are going to praise us throughout the season, people are going to say this and say that. But our process on who we are and who we are trying to be and how we’re going to learn and be the best version of ourselves, that’s all that matters.”
Russell Wilson’s contract
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Because of his success leading the Seattle Seahawks, Wilson was widely regarded as football royalty. So, it came as a shock to many when he was traded to the Denver Broncos in March 2022 and the two years remaining on Russell Wilson’s contract were carried over to Denver, at $24 million and $27 million for 2022 and 2023 respectively.
“For me, this has been an amazing journey. I remember being up on the stage not too long ago and talking about the visions and the goals and the missions, and I think the best part of it all is when you’re around some amazing people, amazing teammates who are so dedicated to the craft, it makes this that much more enjoyable,” Wilson said in a press conference at the time. “I believe this is a marriage, and you want to be here for a long time, and my goal is to be able to finish my career here.”
On September 1, 2022, it was announced he and the Broncos had agreed to a five-year contract extension worth $245 million total and the reason his with the Denver Broncos is considered one of the worst in NFL history is because he just hasn’t performed for his new team the way everyone was expecting.
2022 was massively disappointing. He was sacked more than any other quarterback and only threw for 16 touchdowns with 11 interceptions. Such was the disaster of his debut year with the Broncos that head coach Nathaniel Hackett was fired after just 15 games.
In February 2023, Sean Payton (formerly of the New Orleans Saints) was officially introduced as Denver Broncos head coach. But Russ just hasn’t been able to cook this year either, as evidenced by a humiliating 70-20 loss against the Miami Dolphins on September 24, 2023, and sitting at the bottom of the AFC West standings.
However, Wilson’s outlook on the rest of the season is positive and he’s definitely got a lot to prove. When Wilson was asked directly if he’s kept “receipts” on those naysayers from 2022, he replied: “I think you got them in your back pocket sometimes,” he said, chuckling. “Listen, I’m used to some of those who believe and some of those who doubt. I think that when you’re playing high stakes, and you dream to be the best that you can possibly be every day, there’s always going to be people that question whether you can do it or not. And I think I’ve proven that, throughout my career, what I can do, and I’ve got to do it again. And that’s just that’s just the name of the game.”
CBS speculated that releasing Wilson in 2024 will be on the table if he doesn’t have a bounce-back 2023 season, but the Broncos would have $85 million in 2024 dead money by releasing Wilson before exercising the option for his 2028 contract year.
How much was Russell Wilson paid by the Seahawks?
As a rookie, Wilson was named the Seahawk’s starting quarterback and was signed a $750,000 contract. That might sound like a lot, but for a quarterback, that’s relatively cheap given how much he’d go on to make when he resigned.
Wilson exceeded expectations in this first year of NFL football. He was named Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Year, PFF Offensive Rookie of the Year, and ranked #51 on the NFL Top 100 of 2013. He led the Seahawks to an 11-5 record, a spot in the divisional round playoffs and put up some great personal statistics. He resigned with the team for a significantly higher sum than his rookie year, raking in an $88 million contract over four years.
That contract came with a signing bonus of $31 million and $60 million guaranteed money. That investment well and truly paid off for the team. Wilson got his team to victory against the Denver Broncos at Super Bowl in 2014 but was narrowly defeated in the following Super Bowl against the New England Patriots in a nail-biting finale to the 2015 NFL season.
In 2019, Wilson resigned again with the Seahawks for $140 million, in addition to endorsement deals he was getting left, right and center from the likes of Nike, Mercedes-Benz, Bose and more. This mammoth deal made him the highest paid player (annually) in the NFL at the time, but he wanted to share his wealth among his teammates and so gifted his 13 offensive linemen $156,000 worth of Amazon stock–$12,000 each.
“Every Sunday we go to battle together. You sacrifice your physical and mental well-being to protect me, which in turn allows me to provide care for my family,” Wilson wrote in a letter to his linemen at the time, according to TMZ. “Now it is my turn to return the favor.”
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