Payday for me isn’t quite as close to an NFL salary as I would like it to be. But at the same time, I haven’t won a Super Bowl, I’m not a Pro-Bowler, and I am definitely not the Chief Football Officer with Alaska Airlines. Of course I’m talking about Seattle Seahawks golden boy Russell Wilson!
News spread today regarding Wilson making a change with his current agent Bus Cook. It’s being reported that Wilson fired Cook and decided to pair up with his baseball agent, Mark Rodgers. Oh, and did I mention that Russell is due for a major pay increase? He’ll be eligible to sign a new contract the day after the week 17 matchup against the St. Louis Rams. It makes me think of the possibilities both he and the Seahawks will encounter along the path to signing a mega contract extension.
The biggest thing to consider is the salary cap, and how the ‘Hawks stack up in terms of player importance and front/back loaded contracts. Beast Mode is set to make about $8.5 million next year unless he’s released (or retires), but I think that would be a huge mistake considering Wilson and Lynch work so well together. He’s too big of a threat and I still think backup running backs Christine Michael and Robert Turbin aren’t the full-time answer at that position. At least for the moment.
Overall money in a contract is huge but what players’ value nowadays is the guaranteed money and longevity of the deal. Look at Colin Kaepernick’s recent contract deal with San Francisco–he annually makes an average of $19 million. And has the highest guaranteed money ever at $61 million. Considering that Russell already has a Super Bowl ring, let’s immediately start off at $20 million and maybe go as high as $24 million a year. Will he eclipse $61 million in guaranteed though?
Wilson is going to want big money, and deservedly so. But he also knows what it takes to field a competitive team and must be willing to be flexible with figures in order to maintain the key pieces around him. After all, his job, primarily, is to distribute the ball to other players, which demands talent and a balanced salary. Percy Harvin’s extremely high salary and negative attitude didn’t mesh with the ‘Hawks future, so they cut him in favor of securing their quarterback of the present and future. More cuts like this could be around the corner, but count on Lynch sticking around for one more year. Unless of course he springs a retirement announcement on us.
Expect the Seahawks front office to get something done sooner than later and make all parties happy, especially all the 12’s out there. And don’t forget about his new agent, he’ll be a happy camper as well.
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