Russell Wilson, Seattle Seahawks Remain Far Apart in Extension Talks

Is Russell Wilson in line for a $20 million a year raise? That’s the question that the Seattle Seahawks are currently pondering, and they may not come to a clear conclusion any time soon. According to ESPN’s Danny O’Neil, the two sides remain millions of dollars apart in their ongoing contract extension talks.

"“In fact, the Seahawks haven’t put $100 million on the table right now,” O’Neil said, citing various league sources familiar with negotiations. “The offer of a four-year extension is believed to be worth closer to $80 million.”"

The Seahawks want to pay Wilson like Colin Kaepernick or Andy Dalton. Wilson wants to be paid like Aaron Rodgers, Ben Roethlisberger, or Joe Flacco. Something has to give, and you get the feeling that eventually, it will. But this isn’t a pay bump of a few million dollars a year, like the aforementioned QB’s recieve. Wilson’s bargain-bin salary makes this a unique case.

Wilson, a third round pick in the 2012 draft, has been one of the best bargains in NFL history throughout his first three seasons, making an average of $750,000 per season. Not bad for a QB who’s made two Super Bowls and won more games in his first three seasons than anyone in NFL history. But going from paying a player less than a million a year to upwards of $20 million a year is jarring, it it would mean the Seahawks sacrificing the cap flexibility they’ve enjoyed the past few seasons.

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At least for now, there’s little reason to expect Wilson to be playing anywhere but Seattle going forward. The Seahawks aren’t going to let their Super Bowl winning quarterback leave, so they’ll undoubtedly throw out a number that Wilson is willing to accept. If it takes $100 million, the Seahawks will bite the bullet and pay up. But those are elite QB numbers, and in some people’s eyes, the jury is still out on Wilson’s status as an elite NFL quarterback.

Wilson is undoubtedly one of the best young quarterbacks in the NFL. But given the all-around strength of the Seahawks’ roster, it can be easy to few him as a product of a strong running game, a ferocious defense, and excellent coaching. It’s easy for a quarterback to be successful with a stellar team around him, and the Seahawks have assembled what might be the best roster in the NFL. Giving Wilson a $1oo million contract would sacrifice the long-term flexibility that made assembling such a roster possible, and it would put the onus on Wilson to prove himself as a guy that can carry a team.

For now, it doesn’t look like Wilson’s future as a Seahawk is in jeopardy. But this is a story worth monitoring, especially is the two sides let extension talks carry into training camp.

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