Is Russell Wilson worth $20m a year?

[seahawksfan234]

Argument for:
The statistics do the talking. Wilson is 36-12 in his NFL career, has never lost more than 11 games, 3 playoff appearances, one Superbowl win and one interception away from being two Superbowl wins. I don't believe there is a QB with more playoff wins since Wilson came into the NFL. Has a career QB rating of 98.6. Doesn't have the huge passing yardage or touchdown throws because the Seahawks throw the ball less than most teams in the NFL due to the fact that they have a run heavy offense. Worth noting that in his first two years, he finished 4th in the NFL in yards per pass attempt, and last year finished 7th. So an argument could be made if the Seahawks threw the ball more, he'd have the statistics that would place him in that elite tier of QBs. Lastly, he has done this with one of NFL's worst offensive lines during his entire career. As a Seahawks fan, this is one of my strongest arguments for why Wilson is a great QB, the offensive line he plays behind is so utterly pathetic if a pocket passer was back there he would get destroyed. Also, the Seahawks on paper had basically the same players the year before Russell Wilson came to the Seahawks yet finished 7-9 with Tarvaris Jackson as QB. Once Russell Wilson came, the team improved to 11-5.

Argument against:
His entire career he has quarterbacked the team with one of the best defenses in NFL history. In addition, he has one of the best runningbacks in the NFL. As a result, he hasn't had to carry the team himself. You can make the case that if Russell Wilson had to carry the team, his yards per pass attempt would be lower, and he would have to force more throws because he wouldn't have the run game to set up the pass and as a result that would lead to more interceptions. So there is both a strong case to be made that even his personal statistics, and his team statistics (W/L record, playoff appearances, superbowl wins/appearances) are a result of his supporting cast. Lastly, how will Wilson fare when he gets older? Part of signing a 5-6 year $20m a year contract means that he would be getting paid $20m a year until he is in his early 30s. Will he be able to continue scrambling as well as he does in his 30s? As a Seahawks fan, I can attest that he kept a lot of drives going with his ability to run the ball, and a serious part of his game is that you have to watch out for the option play, which opens things up in the passing game.

So what do you think? Is Russell Wilson worth a 6 year extension worth $120m?

 

[Davis_Mike]

With the current economical environment for NFL QBs, I don't see why not.

He may not be an elite QB, but he is in that next tier. And the ability to lock up a good QB at his age, is worth it.

Whether we like it or not, QBs get paid. Even mediocre QBs can make $10 mil a year.

And the 2015 year should not be figured into his contract. So it should be a 6 year $120 mil extension.

 

[flyerhawk]

The answer is yes. Really not much debate to it.

If he hit the open market he would get paid even more.

 

[ducky]

Easily.

If he does hit the open market (he won't), he might get $30M annually.

A team like Cleveland would happily throw that much at him. Hell they are $25M under the cap as it is (and will just lose that space) and have little in the way of future deals to worry about.

....and unlike virtually every other position that they could invest in a quality QB pays off. They would EASILY make $30M more money in sales with a guy like Russell as their QB than the below average guys they are playing now.

 

[Fountain City Blues]

20M? That's probably what a very average QB gets these days.

 

[HammerDown]

When you stand in line to pay $9.75 for your next beer at an NFL game, remember you said this.

 

[Southieinnc]

When you stand in line to pay $9.75 for your next beer at an NFL game, remember you said this.

From what I can tell, Raider fans get hammered on 25 cent beer before they go in.
There's always that.....

 

[Wolverine830872]

On the Seahawks, yes RW is worth $20 mil, and even then partially because there is no viable Plan B.

On another team that runs a different scheme, probably. The Seahawks lean on the run more than any other team in the league right now. That takes a ton of pressure off of RW. Take away a strong run game and perhaps RW isn't nearly as successful.

The argument is somewhat moot though. The Seahawks will give RW pretty much what he wants that is south of $25 mil a year. If RW insists on his king's ransom, then franchise tag him for as long as possible

 

[Sharkonabicycle]

$20M sure! I'd be great with that. It was the $25M+ talks that were getting me a little, "Meh!"

The one thing that concerns me is Wilson's scrambling as much as he does. That said, he doesn't take the big hits and is built pretty well for a QB (not as skinny as Vick, you look at Wilson's physique, that guy is pretty ripped) and is looking to pass first. He goes through progressions often and just can't find anyone on Seattle's crappy WR group to throw to, so I say yah.

If you sign him to 5 years $100M he's around 30, and then you gauge from there and you have him for 6 more.

 

[HaroldSeattle]

Really a no brainer, you don't let your franchise QB walk, way too hard to find one.

 

[Southieinnc]

$20M sure! I'd be great with that. It was the $25M+ talks that were getting me a little, "Meh!"

The one thing that concerns me is Wilson's scrambling as much as he does. That said, he doesn't take the big hits and is built pretty well for a QB (not as skinny as Vick, you look at Wilson's physique, that guy is pretty ripped) and is looking to pass first. He goes through progressions often and just can't find anyone on Seattle's crappy WR group to throw to, so I say yah.

If you sign him to 5 years $100M he's around 30, and then you gauge from there and you have him for 6 more.

If you didn't have the worst O-line maybe he would not have to scramble so much?

 

[Sharkonabicycle]

If you didn't have the worst O-line maybe he would not have to scramble so much?

Yah, I mean that's a definite valid point. Seattle's O-Line did not rank that well last year and the category they ranked okay in was the running. Least according to PFF.

 

[seattlefan75]

yeah there are QBs getting paid very good above what they are worth and they lead their teams to 5-6 win seasons let alone making it to the playoffs

 

[Shanemansj13]

The contract he is seeking out is about $22 million a year (5 year $110 million), if he gets tagged he will make $23 mil in 2016 and will be the highest paid QB in the NFL.

Well, is he the best QB in the NFL?

No.

10th in Qb rating last year.
7th in Qb rating in 2013.
4th in Qb rating his rookie year.

So he is getting worse if you go by QB rating, which doesnt tell you everything.

Seattles' defensive efficiency rating has been number 1 the last 2 years. And number 2 his rookie year. It was at a high in 2013 when they won the Super Bowl.

What I will say he is smart and doesnt make many mistakes but it is much easier when you throw it 100 times less than the elite QB's.

20 TD's doesnt equal $20 mil, no way around it. If he was on an average team he would be an average Qb.

Now, if I were the Seahawks would I pay him that money. Uhh yeah...there is no doubt in my mind. He isnt elite but he is a smart game manager (more than that), controls the pace of the game, makes smart throws, and most importantly has the leadership and experience of winning and winning a Super Bowl at only 26 years old.

 

[dkmightyhammer]

If Cutler and Cam Newton are worth $20M+ then Wilson is absolutely worth that and more. QB skills aside, he's a team leader and never lets his guys quit (reference Green Bay NFCCG), plus he's a good community guy too. He's the perfect player for any future QB to model themselves after. If he was 3 to 5 inches taller this wouldn't even be a question, but people have been hung up on that since before he even was named the starter of the Seahawks.

 

[HammerDown]

The carte blanche approval, neigh delight to pay an athlete over $1,000,000 per game blows me the fuck away.

 

[darken65]

Any QB with winng record currently seems to be worth 20 mil ,so yes. Two years from now with be the debate of 30 mil a year......

 

[boogiewithstu2007]

If Cam got 20 HELL YES he's worth 20 .... If Cam makes more than Wilson that would be a crime... Now he shouldn't be the highest paid in the league though... He's gotta earn those stripes... But somewhere in that ballpark is gonna happen....

Rodgers, 22 Million
Roethlisberger, 21,850,000
Cam, 20,800,000
Ryan, 20,750,000
Flacco, 20,100,000
Brees, 20,000,000
Kaepernick,19,000,000
Cutler, 18,100,000
Romo, 18,000,000


Wilson is gonna be up in that area somewhere... I need help with Brady's contract ... I know he got a lot of guaranteed money but not sure what his yearly salary is ....

 

[Uhsplit]

If you didn't have the worst O-line maybe he would not have to scramble so much?

Roughly 65 cents of every Seahawk dollar goes to the defense. Jimmy G, Marshawn, and soon Russell will get the big bux on the offensive side. Cap wise, concessions must be made and for Seattle, that will be on the OL. Max Unger and his $6M +/- is gone and I expect Okung and his $8M +/- to be history next year.
Seattle has proven that a team can make it to and win a SB with a sub par OL.

 

[SteelersPride]

saw some arguments against wilsons ability as a passer that were staggering and put him in the 15-20 range all around as a passer, and when really looking at rushing stats had him as like the 10th-12th best running qb' i was shocked, but they were correct stats........someone on espn radio was quoting them, so no i dont have them

regardless

franchise qb's are hard to find, and he works there, you pay him