Photo courtesy of Larry Maurer, Wikipedia
There was a great deal of talk regarding Russell Wilson and his future with the Seattle Seahawks this past week after several reports suggested that he could find himself in another uniform because of stalled contract negotiations.
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Wilson and his agent, Mark Rodgers, wanted a contract extension done by April 15. This past week helped spark up rumors regarding Wilson’s future including the New York Giants potentially offering their two first round picks in exchange for the Super Bowl champion.
While there was reportedly a growing tension in the air with the proposed deadline looming, Seattle, Wilson and Rodgers were able to work out a deal that every side was satisfied with. With every kink worked out, Wilson received a four-year, $140 million extension with a $65 million signing bonus. He officially became the highest-paid player in NFL history and will be receiving a salary of $35 million a year.
Wilson is a top tier quarterback in the NFL and has shown his presence on and off the field. He is deeply rooted within Seattle’s community with his friendly personality and frequent visits to the Seattle Children’s Hospital. The six-time Pro Bowler also took huge strides this past season with 35 touchdown passes and a quarterback rating of 110.9, both career bests.
Last season, many predicted the Seahawks to be an unimpressive team after the team lost key defensive starters like Kam Chancellor, Michael Bennett, Cliff Avril and Richard Sherman. Instead of falling to the bottom of the NFC West, Wilson helped Seattle win six of their last seven games to earn a playoff berth.
With all of these glaring facts sitting in the faces of NFL fans, why would anyone actually think that the Seahawks would let a franchise quarterback like Wilson walk out of the door? Much of the hype was created by Kansas City Chiefs safety Tyrann Mathieu, who tweeted, “Russ wants New York. But you ain’t heard that from T…”
With all due respect to Mathieu, how would he know if Wilson wanted to play for the Giants? The two were never on the same team and the closest they ever physically were was when Mathieu intercepted a pass from Wilson in 2015.
Yet some fans still bought into the hype that Wilson could possibly be traded to the Giants. In the grand scheme of things, it really would have made no sense for Wilson to say goodbye to a home he has created in Seattle to head to an organization that has fewer playoff wins in the past seven seasons than Wilson has had since 2016.
Case in point, Wilson has established himself as a top five quarterback in the NFL and is the core of a Seahawks team that has only missed the playoffs one time in his time with the squad. While this extension came late, it never meant that they were actually considering giving away the most important piece of their puzzle.
With his role as being a leader in the locker room, shredding defenses on Sundays and coming up with multiple clutch performances such as his performance against the Chiefs and the Panthers over this past year, it’s easy to see how Wilson earned every penny of this monster contract.
This news should serve as a lesson to any fan who doubts Wilson’s abilities and/or actually thought he was going to strap on a different colored helmet in the near future.
jscalia@ramapo.edu
