Rumor: RW asking to be the highest paid player in history

[TheRealDTM]

Trade him to Cleveland for Manziel and 3 firsts. We'd be better off.

 

[HawkMeat]

I want Wilson to be our QB forever but not at the expense of our team.

 

[HawkMeat]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/DangeRussWilson/status/594597035149398016[/tweet]

:hmmmm:

Yes 19 million isn't the best for my life but 23 definitely is! :stirthepot:

 

[hieroglyphics]

Jason LaConfora also said that he doesn't think a contract gets done before the start of the season. To be honest, that may not be the worst thing. Then we could get a deal done with Wagner ASAP and next offseason we could franchise RW. We could then even franchise him the next year before it gets too expensive and that would be a better "deal" than a huge new contract starting in the 24m/yr range.

Perhaps RW wants to do what others have done in the NBA for example. Lebron signed a shorter term max contract because he knows the salary cap is going up just like in the NFL. Then it gives him a chance to cash in twice and stay closer to max money year over year. Otherwise, a couple of years into a 6 year deal you're now the 6th or 7th highest paid because the cap has gone up so much and others are using your deal as precedent.

All interesting things to consider. Personally I would go shorter team and try to re-up with new salary cap numbers a couple of years down the road.

That is an extremely risky thing to do as a NFL player.

Everyone knows this is a rough sport. Anything can happen. Taking a 2 year contract, especially one that is only guaranteed for 2 years vs. one that is guaranteed for much longer, does not seem wise.

 

[Anonymous]

He'll get it, no doubt in my mind.

But it will be the highest-tech contract anyone has ever seen. Laced with incentives and cap-spreading over-accounting.

 

[chris98251]

In other news, it's only May 7th and we have to Rumors that people jump on like Flies to a Cow Patty, whens Camp start again?

 

[hieroglyphics]

Would we actually be better off as an organization just franchising him 2 years after his current deal is up?

 

[Sac]

Would we actually be better off as an organization just franchising him 2 years after his current deal is up?

Well, you do run the risk of someone actually signing him away from us. Granted we would get picks out of it, but still...

No. Even if someone signed him we could still match.

 

[Sarlacc83]

There are far too many surprised fans in this thread. The realists have been arguing against a discount for over a year now. It's your own bad expectations that are the problem.

 

[hieroglyphics]

Would we actually be better off as an organization just franchising him 2 years after his current deal is up?

Well, you do run the risk of someone actually signing him away from us. Granted we would get picks out of it, but still...

Under an exclusive rights franchise tag you cannot negotiate with other teams.

Under a non-exclusive tag you can negotiate with other teams but are compensated with two first round picks.

Just read this.

In theory we could tag him until 2019 when he'd be up for hitting the open market. He'd be a 30 year old QB though looking to sign a long-term deal. He does get pay raises (20% increase from the first year of franchise tag and 44% increase from the 2nd year).

Seems like Seattle still holds all the cards, Wilson holding out longer for more money would only cost him more in the meantime. Seattle though would prefer a franchise tag because it means we can see year to year which star players keep their star status, which players drop off and which younger players grow into prominent roles.

By 2018 or 2019, we'll be past our current prime (Sherman, Bennett, Kam, Thomas will all be hitting their 30s). At that point, we either need rebuild as an organization or we'll have a ton of cap flexibility and have younger up and coming players who will lead the team forward.

I think franchise tag isn't so bad, allows us to have a ton of flexibility in the coming years to maintain this run.

Also not the first time its been used in history on a QB, Vick received the tag from the Eagles and Brees from the Saints before.

 

[DavidSeven]

I don't see how this is surprising.

Who in the NFL deserves to be paid more? Big Ben just signed for $22m/year, $60m guaranteed. Russell is younger, healthier, arguably better already. Wouldn't he have to be paid significantly more? Blame GMs around the league for skewing the value of QBs.

 

[hieroglyphics]

Part of the reason the negotiations are taking longer is because Mark Rodgers his agent is a baseball agent, not a football one. From watching the great Scott Boras try and rape every team in the MLB, and since Rodgers competes in the field against that guy, certainly he will also carry tactics that mirror MLB agents. NFL agents though are probably less inclined to "go the distance" lets just say as far as contract negotiations go. Going into the final year of a contract without a deal on the table, perhaps a veteran NFL agent will convince his client that this isn't such a smart move, that he's seen a hundred times a player push it too far only to end up with an injury.

MLB simply has less potential for catastrophic injuries. Rodgers comes in with no real experience with NFL player contracts, which also means he hasn't had experience where he lost a contract negotiation because a team gained more leverage as time went on, whereas in baseball time is more on the players side it seems. There have been a number of cases where Boras or other agents just didn't get what they wanted and the player was a free agent well into the season. Rodgers probably wants to increase his profile more with this deal than anything, and Wilson is fine with that because it makes him more money. But at what point are Rodgers and Wilson comfortable entering the season without a long-term deal and leaving it up to the law of franchise tagging to determine Wilson's future?

 

[hawknation2015]

I don't see how this is surprising.

Who in the NFL deserves to be paid more? Big Ben just signed for $22m/year, $60m guaranteed. Russell is younger, healthier, arguably better already. Wouldn't he have to be paid significantly more? Blame GMs around the league for skewing the value of QBs.

Where are you seeing those numbers for Roethlisberger? This is the contract he signed a couple months ago:

 

[DJrmb]

This goes contrary to what John Clayton and others have said. Maybe something changed or someone got hurt feelings?

Last week Clayton was reporting that they've agreed on a number of 21m per year but the hangup was that RWs agent didn't want it as an extension after this season, but he's wanting the Seahawks to do like they do in baseball contracts and rip up his current deal so he's immediately getting his 21m per year and not prorate it out over the final year on his rookie deal.

 

[hawknation2015]

This goes contrary to what John Clayton and others have said. Maybe something changed or someone got hurt feelings?

Last week Clayton was reporting that they've agreed on a number of 21m per year but the hangup was that RWs agent didn't want it as an extension after this season, but he's wanting the Seahawks to do like they do in baseball contracts and rip up his current deal so he's immediately getting his 21m per year and not prorate it out over the final year on his rookie deal.

Asking for $21 million this year is essentially unworkable without releasing several players. It would effectively be a $25 million per year contract . . . if this year was not tossed out. If that is as low as Russell's baseball agent is willing to go, I would absolutely have him play out this year under his current deal and then go the franchise route.

 

[Scottemojo]

This franchise was effectively nothing before Russell. He brought us a ring and almost another. He's the most exciting player in the NFL today, the face of this Franchise, arguably the face of the NFL itself (highest Jersey sales, etc.). He's going to continue to win for a long time.

Pay heem. Pay thyat myan hiss maney.

[youtube]1jUBbCgMWmE[/youtube]

 

[mikeak]

Yeah it is impossible to give him that salary this year. However it is possible that he is asking for $20M this year but agrees to speed it in future years. As example five years $100 million extension plus $20for this year equals $24M / year for five years.

FO would not like this very much....

 

[Scottemojo]

Jesus needs a new pair of sandals...

This is the cost of success.

 

[DavidSeven]

I don't see how this is surprising.

Who in the NFL deserves to be paid more? Big Ben just signed for $22m/year, $60m guaranteed. Russell is younger, healthier, arguably better already. Wouldn't he have to be paid significantly more? Blame GMs around the league for skewing the value of QBs.

Where are you seeing those numbers for Roethlisberger? This is the contract he signed a couple months ago:

Technically, it's $60m guaranteed for injury, $31m fully guaranteed. However, look at the deal structure. They can't cut him in the first three years due to dead money. So, his salary those first three years is essentially guaranteed. Add that to his fully guaranteed bonus of $31m. Thus, his deal is essentially a $60M+ guarantee even without injury.

From JLC:

@JasonLaCanfora: Roethlisberger gets a true guarantee of $60.75m at the time of signing - another record - and that $65M/3yrs is all but guaranteed...

 

[mikeak]

Jesus needs a new pair of sandals...

This is the cost of success.

Thought you were going to say it was the cost of new sandals!!!

I am in the camp that expected a discount. Not because of hometown as much as slightly lower salary = more competitive team = better health (o-line) and overall career success