hawknation2015":1mzg1d5k said:
I agree but it depends on how you define what is, and what is not, "to Wilson's advantage."
Wilson's advantage should be signing a $20+ million a year deal that both secures his future with the team and allows the team to ease into his massive salary increase, so that it can keep as many of their playmakers around him as possible. Newton recently signed such a deal, with Wilson's former agent no less.
I would argue that it is NOT to Wilson's advantage to have a drawn out, borderline-litigious negotiation process that undermines the stability of the team and his image as a team-first player. It may be to the benefit of the agent, increasing his own take-home commission, as the market value for the position rises exponentially. The same agent who just three years ago said he was too inexperienced in NFL deals to negotiate Wilson's relatively simple rookie contract.
If Wilson's long-term interest is in becoming the best player he can become -- and thereby making the most money he can on and off the field -- then I don't think such a negotiating stance is to Wilson's advantage.
There is some logic to that. I don't really disagree.
That said, I still remember when Walter Jones was going through his contract battles and it made Wilson's look like a walk in the park. He was so difficult to sign that Seattle had to franchise him three straight years before finally getting him to sign a deal. And all that fighting over money... it did zero damage to Walter Jones image. Generally speaking, as long as a player signs back with his own team, fans tend to not hold it against him for using his collectively bargained rights to the fullest extent.
On the other hand, it is fairly common for relationships to be damaged from contract negotiations or other financial decisions. We've seen hints of that with Bennett, Marshawn, and Irvin this offseason. When Graham was traded here, Loomis admitted that part of the reason he was willing to trade Graham was because their relationship got very awkward after they went back and forth battling over Graham's 2014 contract extension. Steve Hutchinson felt disrespected by Ruskell and Reinfeldt, and that led to him and his agent concocting a poison pill to sign away from Seattle.
While I do think Wilson will probably be a Seahawk for life, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't at all worried about a possible relationship strain that comes of this if the battle goes on a very long time and continues to feel personal. Wilson has already shown signs of emotional strain on twitter from it.
Regarding Wilson taking a little less money to help the team, I'm not saying it's wrong to think this way, but players generally don't do hometown discounts, at least not on their first big contract.
And as I've said before, Wilson's 'real' value to the team in terms of wins added per dollar is way higher than $20 million. I feel that Wilson is an elite QB who is solely responsible for about 33% of his teams win total, so I'm okay with him asking for 16% of his team's cap space.
I also think the amount of wins added from $1-2 million a year is really small. Every little bit counts and all that. Part of what makes JS a great GM is his frugal and disciplined nature. If he could sign Wilson for $20 million, then obviously I'd be applauding him. I just think that if he signs Wilson for a little more, it's not the end of the world. And besides that, it should be abundantly clear at this point that getting Wilson for only $20 million AYP in new money is a total fantasy. It will never happen.
Seattle is probably better off compromising a bit right now for many reasons. I think it saves money in the long term (Wilson's demands will probably be much higher after Andrew Luck gets paid). The longer this takes, the bigger the contract will end up being.
