After months of contract talks between the Seattle Seahawks and quarterback Russell Wilson, it seemed as if the two sides were unable to agree. On Friday, a compromise came about, as Wilson and the Seahawks agreed to a four-year, $87.6 million deal, which includes a $31 million signing bonus.
The deal helps avoid the team having to use the franchise tag on Wilson and the quarterback testing free agency.
Sports Illustrated first announced the deal on Friday, which includes $60 million guaranteed. The mega-deal puts Wilson ahead of the Pittsburgh Steelers' Ben Roethlisberger and just behind the Green Bay Packers' Aaron Rodgers in the money per-year category.
The money is well deserved, as Wilson has lead Seattle to back-to-back Super Bowls, winning the first one. He is tied with Tom Brady for the second-most wins for a quarterback in the last three years, just behind Peyton Manning. He has also recorded the most wins for a quarterback in his first three seasons in NFL history.
Wilson was selected in the third round of the 2012 NFL Draft by Seattle, and is now locked with the franchise through the 2019 season. He will turn 31 years old that season, which means he could be looking at another big deal at that time.
The former Wisconsin quarterback has led Seattle to the playoffs all three years, defeating the Denver Broncos in their first Super Bowl, before falling to the New England Patriots this past February.
He was one of the lowest-paid quarterbacks in the league, as the 2015 campaign was the first year he was scheduled to make more than $1 million. That was $700,000 in base salary for 2015, but he currently made $20 million of the signing bonus, with the other $11 million coming next April.
Wilson is coming into the final year of his rookie contract, and if a deal wasn't agreed upon, the team would have to use the franchise tag to keep the quarterback for the 2016 season.
The former Super Bowl winner threw for 3,475 yards and 20 touchdowns against just seven interceptions in the 2015 regular season. He also got some work done with his feet, rushing for 849 yards and six touchdowns.
He was one yard away from his second Super Bowl title, but instead of handing it off to Marshawn Lynch, Wilson threw a goal-line interception to end the game. His first Super Bowl victory made him the third-youngest quarterback to win it all.
Now that the deal is done, Wilson says it's time to focus on football, and even more winning.
The deal helps avoid the team having to use the franchise tag on Wilson and the quarterback testing free agency.
Sports Illustrated first announced the deal on Friday, which includes $60 million guaranteed. The mega-deal puts Wilson ahead of the Pittsburgh Steelers' Ben Roethlisberger and just behind the Green Bay Packers' Aaron Rodgers in the money per-year category.
The money is well deserved, as Wilson has lead Seattle to back-to-back Super Bowls, winning the first one. He is tied with Tom Brady for the second-most wins for a quarterback in the last three years, just behind Peyton Manning. He has also recorded the most wins for a quarterback in his first three seasons in NFL history.
Wilson was selected in the third round of the 2012 NFL Draft by Seattle, and is now locked with the franchise through the 2019 season. He will turn 31 years old that season, which means he could be looking at another big deal at that time.
The former Wisconsin quarterback has led Seattle to the playoffs all three years, defeating the Denver Broncos in their first Super Bowl, before falling to the New England Patriots this past February.
He was one of the lowest-paid quarterbacks in the league, as the 2015 campaign was the first year he was scheduled to make more than $1 million. That was $700,000 in base salary for 2015, but he currently made $20 million of the signing bonus, with the other $11 million coming next April.
Wilson is coming into the final year of his rookie contract, and if a deal wasn't agreed upon, the team would have to use the franchise tag to keep the quarterback for the 2016 season.
The former Super Bowl winner threw for 3,475 yards and 20 touchdowns against just seven interceptions in the 2015 regular season. He also got some work done with his feet, rushing for 849 yards and six touchdowns.
He was one yard away from his second Super Bowl title, but instead of handing it off to Marshawn Lynch, Wilson threw a goal-line interception to end the game. His first Super Bowl victory made him the third-youngest quarterback to win it all.
Now that the deal is done, Wilson says it's time to focus on football, and even more winning.
