The Seattle Seahawks might have a tough contract situation on their hands. Quarterback Russell Wilson is in the last year of his rookie contract, and he has laid down a deadline of July 31 – the start of training camp – for negotiations.
On Monday, NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport spoke about the situation on NFL Total Access, and said that if Wilson does not get a deal done before the 2016 free-agency period in March, the team would slap the exclusive-rights franchise tag on him and see $25 million in cap space disappear.
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Rapoport also reported that Wilson is looking for a deal that would pay him as though he is currently a free-agent. This likely means Wilson is looking in the range of more than $100 million in total value with a high number in guarantees. There have been talks that Wilson, who comes from a baseball background, wants his entire contract to be guaranteed. If it happens, that would be stunning and a first in the NFL.
The hard part for Seattle is figuring out exactly what Wilson is worth. Normally, a quarterback who has led your team on consecutive trips to the Super Bowl is a keep-at-all-costs player. However, he ranks third on the scale of impact behind the Legion of Boom defense and Marshawn Lynch. In his three years with the Seahawks, Wilson has thrown for 9,950 yards and 72 touchdowns, basically numbers that Andrew Luck would amass in two years.
There is no doubting that Wilson is a terrific player, but with the quarterback market being so bloated and general manager John Schneider having to sink big money into unconvential positions, what is the right price? This offseason, Cam Newton signed a five-year, $103.8 million extension with $60 million guaranteed. Yet, Newton could not shine Wilson’s cleats.
So Wilson has to be paid more than Newton, putting him north of $20 million and $60 million guaranteed. Seattle has less than two weeks to figure it out, and then the problem gets put on hold until after the campaign.