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Jason La Confora
INDIANAPOLIS -- The general assumption around the NFL, and particularly among those who cover the league, has it as a fait accompli that Russell Wilson joins the pantheon of the top-paid quarterbacks in the league in the coming weeks.
Plenty have thrown around the idea, casually, that the Seattle Seahawks will be paying him $20 million a year, and it's just a matter of when.
Let me go on the record as stating I am not in that camp. At least not right now. As the Seahawks sort through the aftermath of one of the more crushing Super Bowl defeats in the history of the game, and begin navigating through myriad offseason issues, with the contract status of running back Marshawn Lynch seemingly the top priority right now, there is much work to be done.
At a time when everyone is assuming that, voila, this Wilson deal will just automatically get done this offseason, let be among the minority, if not the only one, to state that it's possible that Wilson actually plays out his rookie contract. It's plausible. Might even be probable.
At this early stage in the offseason it's too soon to know. Not one of the parties directly involved can guarantee the ultimate outcome. But, somewhere in the hearts and minds of Wilson and his agent, Mark Rodgers, as well as in the inner thoughts of Seattle owner Paul Allen and general manager John Schneider, they realize that is an option.
Wilson, never one lacking in strength and fortitude and with a shocking degree of self-belief, seems wired much like a Joe Flacco, to play out his rookie contract and gamble on himself and see what the market will bear after another sterling season in 2015. There is always the threat of injury, of course, or losing leverage from a down season. But Wilson is uber-positive, and some who know the young man well believe he is quite capable of going through this process, and, if what's on the table doesn't make sense long-term, they believe Wilson will play it out, and have Seattle in the position to pay him big time, or franchise him, in 2016.
May sound shocking in the current culture, and at a time when so many quarterbacks seem primed to get paid, but it is anything but less than shocking to those who know the situation well. No deal is imminent -- not even close -- and Wilson's agent is not at the combine (this is usually the time where preliminary, and not-so-preliminary, negotiations are going on for quarterbacks, franchise and otherwise). This is where the foundation is often set. There has been a dialogue, of course, but I don't get the sense that a Wilson contract as first and foremost on Seattle's to-do list, and crazier things have happened than for a multi-Super Bowl appearing quarterback to play out his rookie deal (I think).
Here is what Schneider told me when I asked him on our combine set if it's crazy to think Wilson might play out his rookie contract:
"You know I'm not sure -- we don't talk about he specifics of negotiations. He's under contract for another year and we're not going to change our approach in terms of acquisition since he got here. [We're going 140-150 miles per hour.] That has nothing to do with renegotiation or anything. It's just an approach we have."
Not to parse through words too closely, but that doesn't sound like a fait accompli to me. Neither side will negotiate in the media. It's not their style. Not who they are. Things will remain cordial and positive and I have no doubt that Wilson will be a huge part of this franchise for a long time to come. It just might not be that all that gets tied up into a nice neat little bow in the next few weeks, or this offseason at all.
In the meantime, sounds like getting Lynch's situation figured out is paramount and with the Seahawks willing to give him a nice raise, I don't think he ends up retiring. From what I hear, this Lynch deal is getting close to being resolved. That will leave less free money hanging around for the 2015 budget, and Lynch's deal will be front-loaded, for sure. There could be wiggle room for Wilson, for sure, but the timing might not be right.
I know this about Wilson: He will work his tail off this offseason, as always. He will be solely focused on getting better and continuing to improve and he won't let the business side of this industry interfere with his preparation. He will be driven. And the prospect of playing another year, for just $800,000 (plus inevitable playing time bonuses from the performance pool), will not deter him. He will continue to do quite well with his off-field endorsement and sponsorship deals and I suspect he'll continue to put off buying a home just yet. He is beyond smart with his money, he's not wrapped up with material things, and he's not the kind of guy who I see doing a band-aid or bridge contract just to get some more money in his pocket.
There won't be any Andy Dalton or Colin Kaepernick deals here. If/when Wilson signs his next contract -- assuming he continues on this extraordinary trajectory -- I anticipate it being a mega-deal. Until there, Wilson will work, and the Seahawks, with a young core, will continue winning football games and the sides will coexist just fine. Wilson will be all about the team. Perhaps more weapons will emerge around him.
All the while, this murky quarterback market will have to sort itself out. Right now, according to multiple league sources, there isn't much of anything going on. I'd put my money on theColts blinking first and making Andrew Luck the highest-paid player in the game. As of now, the Steelers (Ben Roethlisberger), Chargers (Philip Rivers), Giants (Eli Manning) and Panthers (Cam Newton) don't have a whole lot going on. Some agents don't want to be the first into that deep end of the pool, and some teams are OK slow-playing things. No one is blinking, and in a league where deadlines spur actions, maybe it takes until closer to the start of the season for things to begin to separate.
I've heard from multiple people involved in these negotiations that things are moving at a very limited pace. With Wilson having so much success, but different things being asked of him than some of these other more traditional quarterbacks (in terms of size, etc), his situation could be further complicated. So, maybe it plays out into 2016, and maybe that's not the worst thing in the world, either. Paul Allen isn't going to run out of money anytime soon, and I don't believe the Seahawks and Wilson are going to stop winning games. If it comes down to a game of patience, I suspect Wilson's will eventually be heavily rewarded.
The Seahawks are much closer to getting a deal done with Marshawn Lynch. (USATSI)
Free agency rumblings...
The Colts will be proactive in trying to extend their 2012 draft class and I expect receiverT.Y. Hilton to be the first to get done. There has been plenty of dialogue and the Colts are willing spenders who are trying to get over the hump. And, again, I believe Luck could be the first of this wave of quarterbacks to get a new deal, though not on any firm timetable. ...
Sounds like 49ers offensive lineman Mike Iupati, in what is a very weak class of free agent linemen, is primed to do very well. ... Heard Frank Gore is seeking $4M a year on a new deal -- people around the league believe his best (only?) shot to get that is back with San Francisco. ...
Consider me among those who believe Randall Cobb will get his $9M a year on the open market, if not more. I don't see how the Packers put that kind of money on the table to preclude him from taking a look at what's out there, but I suppose anything is possible. ...
Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III has started working out at Baylor, where he went to college. Sounds like he is going to be staying out of the Washington limelight and laying low while working on his craft. Smart plan.
INDIANAPOLIS -- The general assumption around the NFL, and particularly among those who cover the league, has it as a fait accompli that Russell Wilson joins the pantheon of the top-paid quarterbacks in the league in the coming weeks.
Plenty have thrown around the idea, casually, that the Seattle Seahawks will be paying him $20 million a year, and it's just a matter of when.
Let me go on the record as stating I am not in that camp. At least not right now. As the Seahawks sort through the aftermath of one of the more crushing Super Bowl defeats in the history of the game, and begin navigating through myriad offseason issues, with the contract status of running back Marshawn Lynch seemingly the top priority right now, there is much work to be done.
At a time when everyone is assuming that, voila, this Wilson deal will just automatically get done this offseason, let be among the minority, if not the only one, to state that it's possible that Wilson actually plays out his rookie contract. It's plausible. Might even be probable.
At this early stage in the offseason it's too soon to know. Not one of the parties directly involved can guarantee the ultimate outcome. But, somewhere in the hearts and minds of Wilson and his agent, Mark Rodgers, as well as in the inner thoughts of Seattle owner Paul Allen and general manager John Schneider, they realize that is an option.
Wilson, never one lacking in strength and fortitude and with a shocking degree of self-belief, seems wired much like a Joe Flacco, to play out his rookie contract and gamble on himself and see what the market will bear after another sterling season in 2015. There is always the threat of injury, of course, or losing leverage from a down season. But Wilson is uber-positive, and some who know the young man well believe he is quite capable of going through this process, and, if what's on the table doesn't make sense long-term, they believe Wilson will play it out, and have Seattle in the position to pay him big time, or franchise him, in 2016.
May sound shocking in the current culture, and at a time when so many quarterbacks seem primed to get paid, but it is anything but less than shocking to those who know the situation well. No deal is imminent -- not even close -- and Wilson's agent is not at the combine (this is usually the time where preliminary, and not-so-preliminary, negotiations are going on for quarterbacks, franchise and otherwise). This is where the foundation is often set. There has been a dialogue, of course, but I don't get the sense that a Wilson contract as first and foremost on Seattle's to-do list, and crazier things have happened than for a multi-Super Bowl appearing quarterback to play out his rookie deal (I think).
Here is what Schneider told me when I asked him on our combine set if it's crazy to think Wilson might play out his rookie contract:
"You know I'm not sure -- we don't talk about he specifics of negotiations. He's under contract for another year and we're not going to change our approach in terms of acquisition since he got here. [We're going 140-150 miles per hour.] That has nothing to do with renegotiation or anything. It's just an approach we have."
Not to parse through words too closely, but that doesn't sound like a fait accompli to me. Neither side will negotiate in the media. It's not their style. Not who they are. Things will remain cordial and positive and I have no doubt that Wilson will be a huge part of this franchise for a long time to come. It just might not be that all that gets tied up into a nice neat little bow in the next few weeks, or this offseason at all.
In the meantime, sounds like getting Lynch's situation figured out is paramount and with the Seahawks willing to give him a nice raise, I don't think he ends up retiring. From what I hear, this Lynch deal is getting close to being resolved. That will leave less free money hanging around for the 2015 budget, and Lynch's deal will be front-loaded, for sure. There could be wiggle room for Wilson, for sure, but the timing might not be right.
I know this about Wilson: He will work his tail off this offseason, as always. He will be solely focused on getting better and continuing to improve and he won't let the business side of this industry interfere with his preparation. He will be driven. And the prospect of playing another year, for just $800,000 (plus inevitable playing time bonuses from the performance pool), will not deter him. He will continue to do quite well with his off-field endorsement and sponsorship deals and I suspect he'll continue to put off buying a home just yet. He is beyond smart with his money, he's not wrapped up with material things, and he's not the kind of guy who I see doing a band-aid or bridge contract just to get some more money in his pocket.
There won't be any Andy Dalton or Colin Kaepernick deals here. If/when Wilson signs his next contract -- assuming he continues on this extraordinary trajectory -- I anticipate it being a mega-deal. Until there, Wilson will work, and the Seahawks, with a young core, will continue winning football games and the sides will coexist just fine. Wilson will be all about the team. Perhaps more weapons will emerge around him.
All the while, this murky quarterback market will have to sort itself out. Right now, according to multiple league sources, there isn't much of anything going on. I'd put my money on theColts blinking first and making Andrew Luck the highest-paid player in the game. As of now, the Steelers (Ben Roethlisberger), Chargers (Philip Rivers), Giants (Eli Manning) and Panthers (Cam Newton) don't have a whole lot going on. Some agents don't want to be the first into that deep end of the pool, and some teams are OK slow-playing things. No one is blinking, and in a league where deadlines spur actions, maybe it takes until closer to the start of the season for things to begin to separate.
I've heard from multiple people involved in these negotiations that things are moving at a very limited pace. With Wilson having so much success, but different things being asked of him than some of these other more traditional quarterbacks (in terms of size, etc), his situation could be further complicated. So, maybe it plays out into 2016, and maybe that's not the worst thing in the world, either. Paul Allen isn't going to run out of money anytime soon, and I don't believe the Seahawks and Wilson are going to stop winning games. If it comes down to a game of patience, I suspect Wilson's will eventually be heavily rewarded.
The Seahawks are much closer to getting a deal done with Marshawn Lynch. (USATSI)
Free agency rumblings...
The Colts will be proactive in trying to extend their 2012 draft class and I expect receiverT.Y. Hilton to be the first to get done. There has been plenty of dialogue and the Colts are willing spenders who are trying to get over the hump. And, again, I believe Luck could be the first of this wave of quarterbacks to get a new deal, though not on any firm timetable. ...
Sounds like 49ers offensive lineman Mike Iupati, in what is a very weak class of free agent linemen, is primed to do very well. ... Heard Frank Gore is seeking $4M a year on a new deal -- people around the league believe his best (only?) shot to get that is back with San Francisco. ...
Consider me among those who believe Randall Cobb will get his $9M a year on the open market, if not more. I don't see how the Packers put that kind of money on the table to preclude him from taking a look at what's out there, but I suppose anything is possible. ...
Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III has started working out at Baylor, where he went to college. Sounds like he is going to be staying out of the Washington limelight and laying low while working on his craft. Smart plan.
I just don't think either side wants to play hardball in this negotiations.
