As the last bastion of the Legion of Boom, revered Seattle Seahawks linebacker Bobby Wagner is uncertain about his future in Seattle — although that is where he wants to be.
Bobby Wagner stands tall as one of the best linebackers in the NFL — yet he also stands alone as the longest-tenured Seahawk on Seattle’s defense.
Even though it’s been years since Seattle has advanced to the Super Bowl, Wagner prevails as earning the top individual honors once again. In 2021, Wagner made the Pro Bowl for the eighth straight season of his career, and he could be first-team All-Pro for the seventh time.
Despite being the heart and soul of Seattle’s defense, Wagner remains uncertain on what his future holds — and whether or not it will be in Seattle.
Wagner maintains “a lot of optimism” that he will return to Seattle for the 11th time, but he acknowledged last week that he’s aware of the changes on the horizon for his longtime team.
“Whether or not I’m part of those changes, I don’t know,” Wagner said, via ESPN.
Wagner may not know what the team imagines for him, but he is hopeful that he remains a cornerstone of the team’s future plans.
“In my mind, I don’t feel like this is my last time,” Wagner said. “I don’t feel like this is my last time putting on a Seahawks uniform.
I understand there is a business side to this, but there is a lot of optimism on my end that I’ll be back. So I’m not worried about it. Obviously, I can’t control everything. I can only control my part. And my part on this is I feel like I love this city. I love this team. I love the Seahawks. So I always wanted to be a part of a franchise’s good times and bad times and every time. So this is a team that I would love to be able to be a part of for a very, very long time.
So on my end, that’s where I’m at, that I’m a Seahawk until they tell me I’m not. So that’s my mindset. So I don’t see it as that was my last game or this next game could be my next game.”
Bobby Wagner maintains “a lot of optimism” that he will return to the Seahawks in 2022
Wagner is 31-years-old, meaning that he could easily negotiate for another record-breaking contract with a team on the cusp of a championship. The Patriots, or even divisional rivals like the Cardinals and Rams, could use Wagner to make a play for a championship in a year or two.
But that’s not the future Wagner envisions for himself. Wagner, who represents himself rather than deferring to an NFL agent, negotiated a three-year, $54 million extension in 2019. His business savvy is what gives him the confidence that he’ll be back next year.
“I would like to say that I’m a pretty good businessman and I would like to say I have a lot of respect here,” Wagner said. “So I’m just going to go into my businessman mentality and work some stuff out.”
Wagner made it clear that this doesn’t mean he’d be taking a pay cut.
“I didn’t say that. … I said I’m a businessman. That’s all I said. Put my business cap on. I did not say I’m doing all that.”
Wagner is the second-highest paid player on the Seahawks behind Russell Wilson. In the final year of his extension, Wagner is scheduled to count $20.35 million against the salary cap — and none of his $16.6 million salary in 2022 is guaranteed.