POLL Will Denver regret giving RW the 245 million extension?

[fastforward]

Wilson is due $40M in his 5th year with the Broncos. If he's only worth $30M at that point and he won't renegotiate the Broncos will release him. There would only be $31.2M in dead money left to be accounted for and $18.4M would have to be accounted for in the 5th year anyway. I can't imagine the Broncos would even bother to designate him as a post June 1st cut. If they did they'd have to carry the $40M salary through the FA period just to delay accounting for the final $12.8M in dead money for 1 year.

 

[HaroldSeattle]

Wilson is due $40M in his 5th year with the Broncos. If he's only worth $30M at that point and he won't renegotiate the Broncos will release him. There would only be $31.2M in dead money left to be accounted for and $18.4M would have to be accounted for in the 5th year anyway. I can't imagine the Broncos would even bother to designate him as a post June 1st cut. If they did they'd have to carry the $40M salary through the FA period just to delay accounting for the final $12.8M in dead money for 1 year.

only be 31.2 million? That's a healthy chunk of money.

 

[wazzu31]

One last comment. I think Seattle fans should also look at this optimistically. You got a great haul and expecting a “down” year, should be in a good position to draft a potential franchise QB in 2023 with the resources to move up. Early signs indicate a much better class than this past year.

It will be a great haul for the Hawks cause the Broncos are going to go 7-10 with Wilson at the helm.

 

[Schmoopy1000]

only be 31.2 million? That's a healthy chunk of money.

in 5 years that will be back up QB money LOL

I wish I could be confident I am joking.

 

[PDay8810]

Perhaps guys who really CAN play NFL QB are far and few between. There seems to be a real shortage for guys who can handle the demands. Maybe it's only logical stupid $$ is in play once a guy has shown he can. Chase Daniels has made more millions than completed passes in what 12 years. Some can't play more than 3 games with winning expectations

Now gambling is on the the horizon?

YEP...QB'S ARE GOING TO GET PAID

 

[fastforward]

only be 31.2 million? That's a healthy chunk of money.

Yes it is, but having between 25% and 50% of the salary cap as a future cap debt is how many NFL teams operate. The easiest way to accommodate that debt level is to have it linked to a highly paid QB on a long-term contract.

The Broncos and Wilson have agreed a fair contract. There wasn't anything to prevent the Broncos from accounting for it at $40M per year and having no dead money. To NOT account for $31.2M over the 1st 4 years and account for $18.4M of that figure in year 5 is their choice. Equally they could have accounted for significantly less than $129.8M over the 1st 4 years, (and they probably will end up doing just that). The Broncos could convert a significant chunk of Wilson's 2025 salary into a restructure bonus. That would give them greater cap flexibility but also a greater cap debt.

My point was simply that if the Broncos move on from Wilson after 4 years it will free up $40M that was earmarked for his salary whilst, (as it currently stands), only accelerating $12.8M of cap hits. That cap acceleration wouldn't be enough to force the Broncos into keeping him on a bad contract. Ironically moving Wilson in 2022 accelerated a slightly larger $13M figure for the Seahawks. I suspect the potentially lower Broncos figure is not an accident on Wilson's part.

 

[DJ]

Denver vs Seattle to kick off MNF......should be interesting.

 

[Dude]

1. When a team gives up 5 draft picks and three players for a franchise QB, they want him long term. Period. There was no doubt a deal was going to get done.
2. Why wait? Can you say Jackson, Burrows and Herbert? Do you think the average pay is going to be less in a year or two? Of course there is a risk that Russ may not be what they hoped - but that decision was already made when they made the trade.
3. As cdumler has already pointed out, this is not necessarily a 7 year deal, rather there are outs after years 4 and 5.

As a Broncos fan, I would see it as reckless not to sign him to an extension now. And they did what needed to be done. I haven’t heard from a single Bronco fan who isn’t thrilled with this deal. It’s truly a team friendly deal if Russ is a franchise QB. There is such a sense of relief not arguing who should start - Drew or Teddy.

This. Broncos trade away a bunch of picks and then don’t sign him for a few years would be sort of ridiculous. Also, the contract is team friendly compared to some other ones we’ve seen lately.
Finally, there is no reason to believe RW won’t play well, just a bunch of speculation.

 

[DHoey]

Russell Wilson: It's not about money, it's about Super Bowls

Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson has spent 10 years in the NFL, all with the Seahawks.

profootballtalk.nbcsports.com

If it was really about Super Bowls, then he would have signed a deal for 10 mil. It's more 90% about the money, 10% about a SB

 

[cdumler7]

They already traded for Russ, and he is under club control for two years. They went all in to get him to keep up with the Chiefs and the Chargers for the next 2 years. What if Russ seriously declines and didn't pan out in this first year? In the unlikely event that happens (or if Russ gets seriously injured) then they have most definitely given the Chiefs and the Chargers the next 5-10 years with this contract. All I am saying is that there was no reason to pull the trigger on this deal now, before Russ has even taken a snap with the team. It's borderline malpractice.

You don't make this trade if you think the guy is on a sharp decline. They've also had what now close to 6 months with the guy. I don't think they need to see him on the field to know whether he still has it or not. Throw in this is like any Free Agent you bring in. You are banking on what they have done so far in their career. I would add then recent history of QB's switching teams that some were having some of their worst years with the past team only to see a huge uptick their first couple of years in a new location. So I don't think this is as risky as you are making it sound here.

As for Russ getting seriously injured that could happen to any QB that just signed a big deal. Mahomes could have signed his deal with the Chiefs and first play of the season boom leg gone. Wilson has been very durable up to this point in his career so I would suspect that only a freak injury would really derail him moving forward. It is the risk you take.

 

[Wolverine830872]

You don't make this trade if you think the guy is on a sharp decline. They've also had what now close to 6 months with the guy. I don't think they need to see him on the field to know whether he still has it or not. Throw in this is like any Free Agent you bring in. You are banking on what they have done so far in their career. I would add then recent history of QB's switching teams that some were having some of their worst years with the past team only to see a huge uptick their first couple of years in a new location. So I don't think this is as risky as you are making it sound here.

As for Russ getting seriously injured that could happen to any QB that just signed a big deal. Mahomes could have signed his deal with the Chiefs and first play of the season boom leg gone. Wilson has been very durable up to this point in his career so I would suspect that only a freak injury would really derail him moving forward. It is the risk you take.

I get it, and I completely agree. It seems that both parties are obviously wanting a long term relationship, but with that being the case, why not deal with the issue closer to the end of this contract? It isn't a restructure of the current contract but rather a new contract that begins when the current one expires. I just don't get it.

 

[cdumler7]

I get it, and I completely agree. It seems that both parties are obviously wanting a long term relationship, but with that being the case, why not deal with the issue closer to the end of this contract? It isn't a restructure of the current contract but rather a new contract that begins when the current one expires. I just don't get it.

Because doing it now gives them more flexibility when you do think he will probably be hitting that decline. If you wait until these two years are up you are then paying him more per year and have less room to figure out restructures and the moving of cap numbers. So then you limit your window really to these two years that he has lower cap numbers. Instead by doing this deal you have opened up a 3-year window right off the bat, then probably one bad year of cap hits for things to reset, and then can restructure once again opening up hopefully another 3-year window where you can surround him with lots of talent as he does start to really decline. This is actually how a lot of the big contracts being set up are doing now.

I would add that right now both sides are in the honeymoon phase of this relationship. I expect the relationship to continue to go well, but easier to get Wilson to give on some things now than maybe in two years. He gave a lot of easy outs for the Broncos in this contract and really did set the Broncos up well to keep his cap hits lowered for a majority of his time in Denver. Not sure you get that in 2-years.

 

[MileHigh64]

I get it, and I completely agree. It seems that both parties are obviously wanting a long term relationship, but with that being the case, why not deal with the issue closer to the end of this contract? It isn't a restructure of the current contract but rather a new contract that begins when the current one expires. I just don't get it.

Very simple in my eyes. If they wait, it will cost the Broncos more. That's it. Period.

 

[Anointed One]

but to play devil's advocate. This is by far the best line he has ever had. Could help with his longevity.

He makes his OL vulnerable... The way he leaves the pocket too early and hangs onto the ball too long puts his OL in vulnerable positions... We had better OL's here than advertised - RW didn't give them much help... I don't see it being any different in Denver to be honest...

 

[NWPATSFAN]

Concerns such as? It's essentially a 4 year deal, with savings and dead money zeroing out at about year 4. If he continues to play well the contract stays in place the last two years. Frankly its about as team friendly a deal as any top caliber qb has given a team since Brady or Manning's 20mm per year deals.

I don't recall PayAton Manning giving any home town discounts? I could be mistaken.

 

[LGM]

I don't recall PayAton Manning giving any home town discounts? I could be mistaken.

He pretty much was 20 million year to year contracts. No dead money, and restructured his last one or two years.

 

[NWPATSFAN]

He pretty much was 20 million year to year contracts. No dead money, and restructured his last one or two years.

20M was no discount and any restructure revolved around his arm pretty much falling off.

Good thing his wife was having HGH delivered to her at home.

 

[cdumler7]

I don't recall PayAton Manning giving any home town discounts? I could be mistaken.

He did for the Broncos. The Super Bowl year the Broncos came to Manning and asked if he would be willing to take a deal worth about $4 million less than what he was getting. They wanted to sign LG Evan Mathis but didn't have the cap room to make it work. Manning agreed to it.

 

[Sweetswingingsammysosa]

Not at all, RW is an elite QB and was forced to carry the rainy city pigeon bitches and that terrible team and coaching staff for 4 years. Their offensive game plan and play calls were absolute garbage. The O-line has been the worst in the NFL for four seasons. They didn't have a running game to support him anymore and the defense went from legion of boom to legion of beeches. If they were smart they would've dropped rah rah Pete and not the elite QB.

The recipe for success and winning the SB over the past two seasons has been to acquire an elite or tier 2 QB combined with an elite defense and solid WR talent. I believe the Broncos have all the ingredients necessary to win the SB except they lack the SB being at their own home.

 

[Wolverine830872]

They already traded for Russ, and he is under club control for two years. They went all in to get him to keep up with the Chiefs and the Chargers for the next 2 years. What if Russ seriously declines and didn't pan out in this first year? In the unlikely event that happens (or if Russ gets seriously injured) then they have most definitely given the Chiefs and the Chargers the next 5-10 years with this contract. All I am saying is that there was no reason to pull the trigger on this deal now, before Russ has even taken a snap with the team. It's borderline malpractice.

Hey Broncos, hire me to be your GM.