Seahawks and Russell Wilson extension talks are going nowhere
Russell Wilson is reportedly preparing to play out the year on his rookie deal.
Considering that Russell Wilson has taken the Seattle Seahawks to two Super Bowls in his three seasons, it might not be a bad idea for the team to try to extend his contract.
Yet according to CBS Sports’ Jason La Canfora, talks between Seahawks and Wilson have gone nowhere, and Wilson is preparing to play out the season on his rookie deal. Wilson was a third-round pick in the 2012 draft, so his salary next year will be around $800,000.
The report comes in contradiction to a January report from the NFL Network that the Seahawks were about to make Wilson the league’s highest paid quarterback, as well as a more recent report from ESPN’s Terry Blount that Wilson and the Seahawks were “very close” to a new deal and it was going to be “bigger and crazier and different from what any contract has ever been.”
A recent quote from Seattle GM John Schneider seems to uphold La Canfora’s story, as Schneider told the Seattle Times‘ Bob Condotta that no Wilson deal was forthcoming, and that they were looking toward working something out with the quarterback next season.
Having a quarterback making such a low salary has given the Seahawks an unusual amount of salary cap flexibility over the last years. Moves like the Jimmy Graham trade or re-signing Michael Bennett wouldn’t have been possible if Wilson was making Flacco’s salary, or even Andrew Luck’s. It’s been an important component in their ability to build such a deep, talented roster.
But all that is about to change, as 2015 is the last year of Wilson’s rookie deal. It would be smart for the Seahawks to try to work out something in advance, but it’s possible that they want Wilson to play out the year at his current salary and see where things go next year.
Either way, Wilson is making plenty of money from endorsements now (you may have spotted him in every single commercial break during the NFL season), and if things don’t work out next year either, the team can always franchise him. The worry when talks like this don’t work out is that it sours the player against the team, but it’s still very early for that to be a concern.
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