As most (if not all) of you know by now, Wilson has set a deadline for the Seahawks to sign them to a new deal (this coming Monday). He said isn't planning on holding out and will play under the existing deal (this is the final year). But, I suspect it'll be a distraction all year for them. I was chatting with a friend this past weekend about the options - it was a pretty fun conversation. What would you do if you were the Seahawks?

The options I talked about were:
1) Wait until the end of the season and franchise him. With the CBA expiring after next season, it might be worth seeing what changes for the 2021 season.

2) Wait until the end of the season and determine what options to do. Similar to #1, but leaving all options on the table.

3) Knowing that the Seahawks typically offer 4 year deals to vets, offer him a 4 year deal worth 122m (30.4m/year). I come up with this number with the following logic. Tom Brady has never been more than 12.4% of the Patriots cap number. Projecting out the cap from 2020-2024 at a 5% increase (a little below average), this is 106m (26.6 m/yr) which is a nominal increase over his current deal and he'd never accept it. So I bumped it to 1/7th of the cap (14.3%). He wants to be the top paid QB in the league, but he's not the top QB in the league. I'd argue somewhere between 4 and 8 and this salary is #2 behind Rodgers. If he takes is great, if not see #1 or #2 above.

4) Trade him

My decision was #4 (#1 was my second option). Funny thing was that Peter King earlier this week proposed the same thing. I suggested calling the Raiders and offering Wilson for Carr, #24, and #27. I was told that was too much for Oakland to give up, but is it? Seattle would likely be asking for at least 2 first rounders, and Carr's value can't be more than a 2nd or 3rd at this point - so 2 late firsts and a 2nd or 3rd. Alternative deals could be Giants for #4 and #17, Miami for #13 and next year's first for example).

Maybe trading him is absurd, and maybe the suggested deal is even more absurd - but his last contract deal caused issues in the locker room, and the cap hit made them go cheap on the OL and be very pick on who they re-sign on defense. Giving him the $34m+ he wants a year would put them in cap hell for 4 more years (barring significant CBA changes increasing the cap)

What would ya'll do if you were Seattle??

And, this makes me a little nervous about Baker in a few years...

Nice post.

I hate doing this, but I disagree that it is going to be a distraction. I think Russ put this out there because he doesn't want the contract discussions becoming a distraction during the season.

To answer your question..........if I were Seattle, I would try to lock Russ up long-term ASAP. Dude is a great qb.

A deadline means that there's a consequence if action isn't taken by the time given. What's the consequence if he doesn't get a new deal by Monday?

I meant if it isn't completed by next Monday it will be a distraction during the season. The media and fans will ensure it. I poorly worded it, but we're on the same page I think.

On your answer, even if it means $35m/year? Yes is a fine answer, but that's 16.5% of the cap for the length of the deal. It means the other 52 are combined 83.5% of the cap. Add in 2-3 other stars taking up $12-16m/year and it leaves about $2.5/year average for the other 49 players.

And a piece of info I ran across... in the last 10 years, no QB that has played in the SB has had over 12.5% of the cap.

No negotiations until after the season. And all the distractions that will come with it.

I'd try to sign him long-term, if I were Seattle.

Yep. I'm making sure he's a Seahawk for at least the next 2 contracts.

I'd make Russ the highest paid QB.

I would keep him, if possible. Solid contract, multiple year if he goes uninjured this year. I think this is in front of people now. Serving notice, but this deadline is pretty short tether. Should be less distracting, but the media mites go looking for issues to gin up controversy.

I agree he is a solid QB. He may leverage more in trade for his team. But he is being open and up front about it.

J/C

If you add up the last three years of their careers, Russ has more wins, yards, and TD than Aaron Rogers. Think about that. We call AR the best QB in the league, yet Russ is quietly outplaying him, every season.

I think RW deserves to be the highest paid QB in the league, and I think he will be

What's the "or what" part. I mean, sign me by april 15 or else?

Is he saying, I'll leave if you don't? He's a great QB and all and if I were the team owner, I'd not want him go to. But geez?

Or else he doesn't resign with the team. He's locked in for this year, but..

Leveon Bell has already set the marker that sitting out a year can be done, and he's a running back.

Imagine a QB doing that.

Pay the man. If i were a team, i'd rather pay now than later. Price tag is only gonna get higher.

As I explained earlier in the thread, I think he is simply saying that he doesn't want to negotiate during the season because it would be a distraction to the team. The issue for Seattle is that negotiating after the season isn't the best scenario for them.

Russell Wilson gets a lot of pub, but I still think he might be one of the most underrated players in the entire league. He isn't just a "solid" qb. He is one of the very best. will mentioned the stats of him and Rodgers. Take Russ away from Seattle and that team is going to be picking in the top 5 of the draft.

He's too short, didn't you get the memo?

J/C

I pulled the comparassions from 16-19 for Russ and Aaron.. . .wow.

Games: Russell Wilson 48 Aaron Rodgers 39
Wins: Russell Wilson 29 Aaron Rodgers 20
Win percentage: Russell Wilson .972 Aaron Rodgers .927
Pass Att: Russell Wilson 1526 Aaron Rodgers 1445
Completion % : Russell Wilson 63.7 Aaron Rodgers 64.2
Passing Yards: Russell Wilson 11,650 Aaron Rodgers 10,545
TD's : Russell Wilson 90 Aaron Rodgers 81
Game winning drives : Russell Wilson 9 Aaron Rodgers 7

I think Russell Wilson is one of the most underrated players in football HISTORY. And I will admit, I underrated him myself. Until I started looking at these stats maybe a couple weeks ago, I never really let what he was actually doing SINK in. I follow the entire league, but Rodgers gets all the press as far as the NFL is concerned.

I think the NFL and fans have done Russ a disservice. We are have the ability to watch GREATNESS. I am definitely going to make a habbit to tune into more SEA games this year when the browns are not playing.

Not sure where the stats are from, but nobody in the history of the NFL has a +900 win percentage.

He's a very good QB, but the dude might be crazy. He claims God spoke to him and that his nanobubble water heals people.

If I were the Seachickens, I'd probably want to extend him now because the CBA will probably change a lot in favor of the players. Lock him up under the current rules (assuming those carry forward until the new rules kick in).

If hearing from God makes a person crazy then call me crazy

Russell Wilson is the type of guy you just give whatever he wants. I don’t understand why the Seahawks are messing around.

That depends on what you mean by "hearing". If you're telling me you actually hear God's voice, literally in your brain or through your ears, then yes, you're probably crazy.

This was RW's quote, "The play happens, and they pick the ball off. And I take three steps, and on the third step God says to me, 'I'm using you ... I want to see how you respond. But most importantly, I want them to see how you respond.'"

If RW said something like, "I think that interception is God's way of testing my response", sure I get that. He'd be interpreting what just happened as a sign or message from God. But literally hearing God's voice and about a football play? Come on.

Trillions of people throughout history search for meaning and want to speak to God, but God chose a football player to break his silence regarding an interception? Sorry, not buying it.

Look, I'm not denying God's existence. I see God's work every day, some I agree with and some I don't. And I can understand someone getting an idea and then saying, "...that idea I just had must have come from God." But it's a HUGE leap from that to having God speak to that person with words, in English.

Crazy.

Sorry, need to stay on topic. My intention wasn't to turn this into a "Does God talk to people?" thread. Seattle should be trying their hardest to extend him. As for the fake deadline, you telling me if they call the day after and offer $200M guaranteed over 5 years he's going to refuse? Please.

1. Because you explained it as you see it, doesn't make it so. I read your post,,

but:

2. What I was asking is what is the "or what"? there isn't really much he can do.

They can franchise him and then he either agrees or sits out.

That's not a big threat!

Yes, I have been informed that are we not to talk about race, religion, and politics in the football forums.

Russell Wilson is a very good qb and the Seahawks should properly compensate him.

I apologize for trying to answer your question.

Me too.

I see it more as the deadline with which he wishes to discuss his contract. I don't feel it's intended as a threat at all. It plainly states in the OP that he doesn't plan to hold out and will play under the existing deal.

Some players actually have a team first mentality. I think that's the case here. I mean why would anyone see it as a threat when he says he is willing to play under his current contract? It seems from every indication he wants to do a deal by this coming Monday "or" wait until next off season.

I mean the way the story is given to us it does make one have to draw their own conclusion. But based on the information given I just feel he doesn't want to be distraction to the team. Thus the time constraints given.

Interesting comments. I see I'm the only one on the pursue a trade side of things.

For those that want to pay the man. What is too much? For example $35m/year will be about 16.5% of the cap for the length of the deal (based on current CBA and 5% increases in cap/year). If you were to have only 3 other players in the 12m-16m/year range, you'll have almost 40% of your cap allocated to 4 players. That'd leave about 2.5m average for the other 49 players, assuming there is no dead cap space and the full amount is used every year.

I agree he's a good QB, top 4-8 for sure as I said. I also agree he's at least on par or better than Rodgers. But, for one guy to take up that much cap space just to be the highest paid player is dangerous. Look at what Seattle has done since he signed his last deal - they've won 2 fewer games on average per year than his rookie deal. Why? Because they couldn't afford to re-sign good players. My point is that there's a number that makes any one player too expensive. For QB, I'm going to say 12.5% of the cap (or roughly 26.6m/year the next 4 years) based on the existing CBA and cap increasing 5%/year.

I don't disagree with the thought process involved of too much of the percentage of cap space going to the QB position. I don't disagree with the way you arrived at your 26.6 mil. salary.

But the fact is none of that is relevant. He's going to get a 30 mil per year contract. The market combined with supply in demand is what will set his fair market value. And in the end that's all that will matter.

This a no brainer.

You negotiate a long term deal. Make so that in later years he can help the team by some kind of reductions.

But he is a franchise quarterback and a deal must be made.

Pit my friend, you're exactly right. He will, thus why I'd consider trading him for a kings ransom. Huge gamble, and maybe a stupid one.

Not every player is Tom Brady, in the sense that he took less (or adjusted his salary often) for the sake of the team. It is almost unbelievable that he never has had more than 12.4% of his team's cap as clearly the best QB in the last 20 years. (BTW, that plus 12.4% is also the highest percentage of cap a QB has had for a superbowl team in the last 10 years)

I wonder if God sounds like Pete Carroll in his headset?

I'd say so. Maybe Wilson thinks Pete Carrol is god!?

typo on my part

pass completions not winning percentage

winning percentage is .615 RW vs .526 AR.

I might be the only guy so far that agrees with you but if I'm the Seahawks, I'd pull the trigger on that trade.

1) Most of the Seahawks' main talent is getting long in the tooth.
2) They only have about $10 mil of cap space this year.
3) While they have a ton of cap space next year, they also only have 27 guys under contract. It's going to be a blow-up year anyway.
4) Russel Wilson is 31 years old and he won't be making $30 mil a year, he'll be making $35+ mil a year. This is probably his last contract and I'd be looking for 5 yrs - $200 mil with a lot of guaranteed money if I were his agent.
5) Derek Carr is making $25 mil a year through 2023.
6) They don't have the talent this year to go far in the playoffs.
7) God blew their last Superbowl chance when he didn't call the running play with Lynch.

I would pay the man.

I can hardly believe that Wilson has played seven years already ... Boy does time fly.

He is a franchise QB with another 5 years or so left , and imo that is plenty of time to rebuild a SB contending roster around him.

I've read 5 years 180m with 100m guaranteed. That being said, Seattle doesn't offer 5 year deals to vets typically, so whatever the 4 year version is.

Apparently, according to those stats, Russel Wilson and Aaron Rodgers did.

Oh for crying out loud, sometimes you are so childish

He corrected his mistake. No harm done.

Now, you are resorting to insults.


You asked a question. I answered it as honestly as I could. You come back w/something about me not being right and then proceed to bring up the "or what" point. I don't recall Wilson making a threat.

Da-mans-hot, if you want to make a point...make it. There is no need to phrase it in a question. I thought it was a legit question and I answered it. Not sure how that was wrong?

15th is almost over and no contract. Today PFT put out an article about the Seahawks trading Frank Clark to make extra money available for Wilson. This is exactly the issue I have with paying any one player this much. Too much of the other decent talent needs to be moved.

Wilson will need to block for Wilson, hand off to Wilson, throw to Wilson, and rush the passer and kick field goals.

It's becoming a real death sentence for quarterbacks.

The last time Flacco did anything was before he became the highest paid QB.
The Raiders seemed like the next big thing, then Carr became the highest paid QB.
The Falcons were Superbowl contenders, then Ryan became the highest paid QB.
The Packers were a dynasty-in-waiting, then Rodgers became the highest paid QB.
The Lions were quickly ascending, then Stafford became the highest paid QB.
The Vikings were a quarterback away, and then Cousins got paid.

Of course, that isn't in chronological order and there are a lot of factors at play, but dedicating too much money to the most important position in football is a counter-productive to success.

And the most successful quarterback in the history of the NFL is the proof.

Tom Brady is the 17th highest paid quarterback in the NFL this year. He's not looking for a pay rise as he chases his 7th Superbowl ring.

And it's the brilliant move.

Brady amassed a fortune from a solid NFL contract, endorsement deals and his off-field business dealings.

In checking this out, I found this:



And, why?



Anyone who has followed Brady's career knows that he is one of the most deeply competitive players in NFL history. He is also obsessed with football, winning and pathologically angry about ever being overlooked.

The guy knew very early on that maximising his financial return was beneficial to his bank account but detrimental to his chances of having on-field success. For the money that the team saves on Brady, they can afford several high-value players around him.

Tom Brady is still an obscenely wealthy man. That's the kicker. The estimates all hover around the $200 million range. The many isn't worried about putting food on the table, paying bills or getting his kids to college. Yet he's been able to accomplish that because his salary has never restricted Belichick from putting talent around him.

I don't care enough to research it because it's a fact that won't be contested: The man has a lifelong revenue stream from endorsement deals and selling basically any product he wants to create from Tom Brady merchandise to cooking books. His success has assured his cashflow will never run dry.

Russell Wilson, on his 3rd round pick salary, was waltzing towards a dynasty that could rival Brady's patriots. Then he got paid, and they've not been able to put a team around him. Part of this is because the talent around Wilson also wanted extremely high value, but Wilson already gets paid MORE than Tom Brady and he's demanding new money that will make him the highest paid player in the league.

Seattle are forced to determine their future: If they're talking about shipping off what talent they have left just to retain his services, or shipping Wilson off.

It is scary when you think about it. Look at the most exiting teams in the NFL. Chiefs. Browns. Rams. Eagles. Incredible talent with franchise quarterbacks in place... while they're on their rookie contracts.

The highest paid QB on a great team is Drew Brees at $25M per year, and even that team has slipped from their promise.

It is excruciatingly painful to think about - but if I was with Seattle, I'd lean towards trading Russell Wilson. He might legitimately be the best quarterback in the NFL, but finding a franchise quarterback is easier than finding 21 players to put around him with almost no budget to do so.

Let's be real....Brady's wife is a supermodel and makes WAAAAYYYYYYYY more money than he does. So, he can afford to take a lesser contract and be happy with it.

If youre curious

Linky

The Saints are a miracle and a blown call away from two straight Super Bowls.

It doesn't look that way. Checking out contract history:

Brady signed a 6 year, $60M deal in May 2005.

After Peyton Manning agreed to a 7 year, $99.2M deal in March 2004.
After Mike Vick agreed to a 10 year, $130M deal in December 2004.

Brady had already won three Superbowls (2002, 2004, 2005) so he was making considerably less than his less-successful peers.

Brady didn't meet his wife until 2007, before marrying in 2009, so he was already taking less money before they met.

After he took less.

Admittedly it started with his shoulder injury, but the Saints signed him for 6 years, $60M in 2006. It resulted in a Superbowl win and historic levels of production with great talent around him.

In 2012, however, he became the richest in the NFL.

7-9
11-5
7-9
7-9
7-9

What happens after this contract? Ironically, the article I'm reading says this...



So what did Drew Brees do?

In 2016 he signed a team-friendly 2 year contract worth just $44M.

11-5
13-3

In 2018 he signed another team-friendly 2 year contract with $50m. Both of these contracts are hardly more than he was being paid damn near a decade ago.

When you think about it, Brees has been playing the last four years for just $94M while Derek Carr (Yes, Derek Carr!) is on a 5 year, $125M deal.

It's crazy when you think about it, but a team-friendly deal for a QB seems to directly correlate to winning.

It should be said that Wilson was also on a pretty friendly deal until now. The only difference is that their talent wanted huge money and they've not drafted very well.

So, it is a little of everything, but we're talking insanity with Wilson. Rumour has it that he doesn't just want money, he wants a percentage of their salary cap so his contract will continuously inflate with the cap - which will not only make him the highest paid quarterback, but keep him the highest paid.

J/C

4 years, $140 million. $35 million per season.

Congratulations to him. Condolences to Seahawks faithful. Ouch.

Wow! Somebody describe any ceiling you see. Common sense says a lid at some point must exist. Incredible sums.

Congrats to the windfall reapers.

Tom Brady's contract with the Patriots hasn't been the biggest. I wouldn't be surprised if wealthy New Englanders have stuffed a lot of envelopes, though. I'm guessing some teams just get more creative with their compensation packages. Northeasterners know all about shell corporations.

The upcoming CBA will most likely limit individual contracts like this. It seems a bit prohibitive to have a QB making $35M while others around him are making a lot less and he's taking up such a huge chunk of the cap.

Will Baker come up for a new contract before or after the new CBA?

[quote=Versatile Dog]Now, you are resorting to insults.


You asked a question. I answered it as honestly as I could. You come back w/something about me not being right and then proceed to bring up the "or what" point. I don't recall Wilson making a threat.

Da-mans-hot, if you want to make a point...make it. There is no need to phrase it in a question. I thought it was a legit question and

More Childishness...

More Childishness...

To answer an earlier question, Mayfield is in year 2 of what will likely be a 5 year contract (though extended after 4).

So Extension would be sometime in the 2021 season. The current CBA expires 2020.

If the salary cap remains similar (currently at 188.2 and increasing about 6 % a year), it will be around 224 million for the 2022 season I believe.

That would mean top 5 qb's should expect to make at least 33.6 million per year plus some escalators (going off the 15% of team cap that seems to be the norm).

I think Wilson's new deal is pushing to average 16%, but you get the idea.

In short, they expensive.

j/c:

--It would have been hard to trade Wilson because the other team would have had to give up a lot of assets to acquire him and then face the prospect of signing him to a huge contract.

--Seattle had to give Wilson that money. They couldn't take the chance on eventually just losing him like the Steelers lost Bell.

--I have been trying to say this for awhile now, but the time to go all-in on acquiring talent is when you have a good qb who is on his rookie deal. Dorsey has done a great job of acquiring excellent talent while Baker's contract is favorable. Teams like the Rams, Chiefs, and Eagles have also taken advantage of similar situations.

--People talk about how much NFL players are making, but consider this. The NBA, MLB, and NHL all pay their players more than the NFL. The NFL's hard salary cap limits what players can make. Thus, when NFL teams rewards one player w/such a huge contract, many other players suffer financially. Sports like baseball don't have that issue. They can pay multiple players a lot of money.

--Consider this while digesting the above paragraph. The NFL generates far more revenue than the other sports.

--So, what's the problem here? Greedy players or greedy owners?

Owners.

They easily could pay the players a lot more with the revenue they make and create year in and year out. They do whatever they can to stifle the players.

I believe its time the salary cap gets a BIG increase, which I think it will under the new CBA.

Its really not. The NFL makes a TON of money, they can easily inflate the salary cap if they wished, they just refuse too because they don't want to dig into their pockets.

What a sad statement about a person with a wife and 3 kids....

It's an interesting perspective.

Evidently Wilson's new deal also includes a no trade clause.

Source: Seahawks make Wilson top-paid in NFL
http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/26535311/seahawks-make-wilson-top-paid-nfl

The Seattle Seahawks and Russell Wilson have reached agreement on a four-year, $140 million extension that includes a $65 million signing bonus and makes the quarterback the highest-paid player in the NFL, a source told ESPN's Adam Schefter on Tuesday morning.

With the four years added to his contract, Wilson, 30, is contractually tied to the Seahawks through the 2023 season, the source said.

In addition to topping Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers' contract as the richest ever with a new-money annual average of $35 million per season, Wilson's signing bonus also sets a record. Rodgers was first in both categories at $33.5 million and $57.5 million, respectively, on the extension he signed last summer.

The deal includes a no-trade clause, a source said.

Wilson, without specifying terms, said he had reached a deal in a video he posted to Twitter about 45 minutes after the passing of the midnight deadline that his side had set for an extension.

"Hey Seattle, we got a deal," a sleepy-sounding Wilson says while lying in bed next to his wife, Ciara. "Go Hawks. But I'ma see y'all in the morning. Time for y'all to go to bed."

The deal was apparently finished after four days of negotiations between the Seahawks and Wilson's agent, Mark Rodgers, who arrived at the team's headquarters Friday.

It keeps Wilson, a five-time Pro Bowler and the quarterback of the only Super Bowl-winning team in Seahawks history, under contract through his age-35 season. And it avoids the messy route of Wilson going year-to-year on the franchise tag, which would have paved the way for an eventual divorce.

"At the end of the day, my guy wants to live, work, thrive in Seattle," Rodgers said Tuesday. "Loves this town and its fans. He compromised to stay here. I respect that."

Wilson was set to make $17 million in 2019, the final season of the four-year, $87.6 million extension he signed in the summer of 2015. His side had given the Seahawks a deadline of midnight Monday for a new contract and, according to Schefter, did not intend to revisit negotiations this year if there wasn't a deal by that point.

Wilson had said at the end of last season that he would be comfortable going into the final year of his current deal if needed.

"Oh yeah, if that's what I've got to do," Wilson said. "It's business and everything. I know essentially after the season, I could potentially be a free agent, that kind of thing. I don't think that way. I see myself being in Seattle. I love Seattle, and it's a special place for me."

Coach Pete Carroll, also speaking at the end of the season, said an extension for Wilson was "very much in our plans." More recently, he said at the NFL's annual meetings last month that the two sides were "on it" in terms of a potential Wilson extension without elaborating. But when the deadline was first reported in early April and especially as midnight Monday drew nearer, there was no indication of whether they would come to an agreement.

Despite the uncertainty over his contract negotiations, Wilson was present for the start of the team's voluntary offseason program on Monday as his agent and the Seahawks continued to meet.

Wilson's 2015 extension averaged $21.9 million, which at the time made him the second-highest-paid quarterback in terms of annual average below Rodgers at $22 million. Wilson had fallen all the way to 12th on that list before his latest extension put him at the top.

With Wilson taken care of, the Seahawks can now focus their attention after the draft to potential extensions for All-Pro middle linebacker Bobby Wagner and Frank Clark, the team's top pass-rusher. However, it will be no easy task to extend both of their contracts given how much money the Seahawks are now paying Wilson and the fact that Wagner's and Clark's extensions would be near or at the top of the market for their positions. Clark has been the subject of trade rumors and has yet to sign his $17.128 million franchise tag.

Wilson is coming off arguably the best season of his seven-year career. He edged his previous career bests with 35 touchdown passes and a 110.9 passer rating while tying his career low of seven interceptions. Wilson did that on 427 attempts, his fewest since 2013, as the Seahawks operated one of the league's most run-heavy offenses. Only Drew Brees and Patrick Mahomes finished with a better rating than Wilson's 110.9.

If the salary cap could grow by 25%, assuming that's doable, wouldn't the QBs of the league just end up soaking that increase up? So, RW's contract wouldn't be $35M/year, it'll be $45M/year.

I don't care if the salary cap grows or not, the NFL players deserve more guarantees for sure, but I'm suggesting an NBA-like contract system. If you don't do that, the QBs will just end up taking the lions share of the cap like they do now and that leaves the rest of the team fighting for scraps.

Supply and Demand, if the teams are willing to pay them the extra money, that's on the team, not the player.

A player is only worth what a team is willing to pay him, you get that right? That is why RBs make less than QBs, teams are not willing to pay them that much. If teams stopped paying the QBs this kind of money - the Qbs would start to accept less. Where else are they going to play?

Supply and Demand.

Edit to add:

I would not be against of say position caps. Like the salary cap, each position has a its own cap.

QB has a max salary
RB has a max salary
WR has a max salary
etc. etc. then you have a total team salary cap at a limit as well.

We will be in a similar position in a few years. Baker might have to be paid as the highest QB contract next go round...hope we still have that Cap room war chest!

I thought that was my point I was making, not a position cap, but a player cap. Meaning, one player can't be X% or more of the cap. The league and the union need to come together on this. Sure, the QB is the most important position, but what good is having a very good QB if you can't afford to field a team around him? There has to be a middle ground.

"Afford" made me laugh. Anyone making that much money can afford anything they need and pretty much whatever they want no matter what their spouse/partner makes. But, you make a good point.

Teams can mostly definitely afford to have talented teams around expensive QBs. It’s just harder to accomplish. If you don’t have the QB you have basically no chance at being good.

Spotrac doesn't have his deal in their system yet - it'll be interesting to see how their cap situation changes. I know they had about 10m in space before the deal. His cap hit was 25m for this season, and I suspect that won't change because this is being labeled as an extension as opposed to a new contract. I suspect his cap hits will be 32m next year, 34 the following, 36, the following and 38 his last year. Crazy numbers.

One team (and one year) is not a trend, it is an exception. BDU's post shows the trend. Kudos to Indy and I hope the Browns brass are paying attention to what they're doing.

Russell punching the clock with 18% of the salary cap in his pockets. We'll see if they improve from a perennial 10-6 first round loser... I doubt it.

The Seahawks have won one Super Bowl and were a dumb-call away from winning a second w/Wilson as their qb.

They would have been ignorant to let him get away.

I won't argue that point at all. Just interested to see how it plays out. One player making 18% of the salary pool will make it tough. Someone mentioned a "position cap" or something to that effect, NFL needs to do something.

Everyone can cry foul about greedy owners til the cows come home, really doesn't hold a lot of cred when the player ranks show a hard line of "haves" and "have nots".

We should point out that the Colts are rebuilding from having such a terrible team that mounting injuries almost ended Luck's career.

They have cash to spend because they have few players worth anything. That certainly looks poised to change, but the question is now about sustainability.

Can they amass enough talent around Luck before their cheap rookie deals end? Can they consistently draft enough talent to replace the players who will inevitably walk?

They've started well, but going 10-6 against a very weak schedule (Tenn x2, NYJ, NYG, OAK, JAX, BUF, WAS, CIN) is just a start.

They're a long way from contending, and having a high-paid QB narrows the window of how long you have to amass that talent.

But, it's all ultimately irrelevant. You're going to pay your quarterback. That's the model for success. Find two or three centrepieces, put as much talent around them as possible.

The Seahawks are different. They already have no cap space and players that need deals. It looks like they're going to have to take steps backwards to try and move forward with Wilson.

$35 million per year is an insane cost.

Yet the players aren't the ones setting the values on the positions. The owners are doing that.

Right. Which is why the league must step in. All markets need regulation.

There’s literally a salary cap.

I think that's an odd position to take. I mean from a fan standpoint I guess it makes sense. But when one thinks about it, it seems you're advocating that boundaries be set on a supply side economic principal.

It seems what you're saying is that it's the owners who are paying these high prices and they must step in to save themselves? Supply and demand set every market in our society accept for very few. But the NFL is a purely competitive bidding process for talent. The owners have set the bar high on bidding among themselves for these QB's. It's the market they have created.

Are you suggesting you believe multi billionaires will set some arbitrary cap on QB salaries so they can't use the power and leverage of their wallets to gain a competitive upper hand?

And why would QB's start signing for less money in a sport where owners keep making more? I don't really see an advantage for either side to broker such an agreement.

Uh, yeah... I think everyone's aware of that. I'm talking about single players, namely QBs eating up enormous amounts of the cap.

For the record, both were on his rookie contract. He deserved a massive raise from the rookie deal. And since he's pretty much carried the team on his back. I agree they'd be ignorant to let him get away, but on the flip side I think they're ignorant to give him 16+% of the cap.

What do you think Rodger's percentage of the Cap is for GB? Cousins, Ryan's, etc.

It's the going rate for a Franchise QB. Baker will be the same 4 years from now.

The owners don't have to pay them that much money. They choose to.

If you have an above average QB you can sell your fan base hope. If you have no QB you know you will be bad (unless you have a historic defense).

The problem is not paying QBs too much money. The best ones are worth it because they keep their teams in playoff contention no matter what. The problem is that teams are paying the wrong QBs because of misevaluation. Players like Joe Flacco, Derek Carr, and Matthew Stafford get huge contracts because their teams are afraid of going back into the QB wilderness.

If your QB can assist in his own protection, (moving in the pocket, escaping pressure, getting the ball out quickly, etc) then an average pass blocking line suddenly becomes a very good OL.

Your QB is only going to be a bargain once, if he's any good. Hopefully you are also working on making wise choices in the draft as his career progresses, so you can keep the talent train coming. A team needs to find the value players. (like maybe a 4th round Callaway, a 5th round Avery, or a 2nd round Chubb, or a 3rd round Ogunjobi) If you keep adding 3-5 drafted players who can contribute from each draft, you keep the cycle churning. Then you can also value shop for players who struck out elsewhere, but who might fit here (like Robinson, Perriman, Fells, and Charles) Sure these might be one year solutions, but the Pats always seem to have a bunch of "one year solutions" on their team, patched in among their own drafted players, and some carefully acquired players, obtained either by trade or free agency.

Every team is on the same boat. They all want that great QB, even knowing that they have to "overpay" for him. They have to carefully construct their team to manage the increased cap hit from a star QB.

Scroll up and read BDU's post. What have these guy's teams done since they signed their contracts?

I guess it comes down to this - do you want butts in the seats and a good team or championships? Last 10 years NO team with a QB with more than 12.4% of the cap has made the Superbowl. None.

You are taking my post out of context. I responded to a poster who said something like let's see if they improve from 10 and 6 and a first round exit in the playoffs. That has not always been the case. That was the point I was making.

Russell Wilson is very underrated. Take him off that team and they are drafting in the top 5.

I was listening to some reporters, including a former NFL qb, talking about which qbs would you want long-term. That eliminated guys like Brady, Brees, Rivers, Ben, and even Rodgers.

They all said Mahomes. There was a disagreement over Luck and Wilson being second and the other third. That put him ahead of guys like Wentz, Baker, Ryan, Stafford, Goff, etc.

Like I said earlier, I think a lot of casual fans underestimate just how good Wilson is.

You may not think it's credible, but I disagree. The league that generates the most revenue is paying it's players the least.

Having the highest revenue isn't because people enjoy watching the owners. They love watching the players on the field. The NFL players have been getting screwed over by the owners forever. These guys are not just regular employees. They are elite entertainers and deserve to be compensated as such. If one position is taking up too large of a percentage of the cap.......get rid of the hard cap.

My bad. I agree with everything you said - and I hope I never came across as saying he's not good. He's a heck of a player. For me, the choice between Luck and Wilson would all depend on the rest of the team and coaching staff. I just think QB payrolls are absurd, at the expense of the rest of the team (potentially).

I'll try one last time. If the cap was 1 billion dollars - QB salaries are disproportionate and have a negative effect on the rest of the roster. If the owners sold everything they owned, worked at Chic-fil-a, and gave all the money to the team... QB salaries would still be disproportionate and have a negative effect on the rest of the roster. Has nothing to do with how much the league makes, how much the owners make, or even how much the players make for that matter.

It’s almost like QBs are disproportionately more valuable than the other players on the roster.

For a team that has had a junk QB for 20 years, I would gladly have paid 200 millions for a HOF Qb in any of the previous season pre-baker.

My point of contention has always been that it's EASIER to build star-studded roster when your quarterback is on his rookie deal.

After his initial contract, you then need to be creative with building your team. Even though Brady took less money than he could have, the Patriots are very good at this... They could pay Brady more and still win.

With your QB on a rookie deal, you can sign high priced talent to the point of overpaying, and have a great chance to win. That's what we're doing. I think our team could and should look drastically different in a few years with one remaining constant, Baker Mayfield.

I would add Myles as that constant as well.

I would too... and I'd hope Ward is right there with them... I also think OBJ should be there as well... as for the rest of the team... all expendable.

I would say Ward, but I have to see him stay healthy consistently before I do that.

And if the contract restructuring rumors are true about Odell, I'm guessing he would be included as well. But that's three power contracts. That can be tough.

The cap is only going up (maybe significantly more soon) and team’s know how to fudge cap numbers better than ever. I am 0% worried about keeping our players.

I think after years of being nomads in the NFL trying to establish a team. Mainly due to the fact we did not have a franchise QB. Point Blank, Wilson is a Franchise QB he is everything people envisioning Murray to become except Wilson is much more accurate!

The kid is amazing. He was amazing with Wisconsin and outside of Brady one of the best steals in the draft!

I think they were in a total rebuild mode and what happenedd. Wilson carries them on his back and they have a successful season!

jmho, kid is good. I just hope he doesn't get hurt.

Oh but it does. The owners are the one's who wanted a hard salary cap based on income. They set up the very rules that created the situation you describe. They didn't have to do that, they chose to.

That was the point of my prior post. It's the owners who created the situation that you seem to say they should get themselves out of. The players settled for for the cap in order to at least get a fair share of the profits and even then we see teams, just like the Browns, who have spent well under the cap for many years. The players still aren't getting the proper cuts of the profits from teams that pay well below the cap. The owners once again are favored in this deal. So it's not the players who created this situation. It's the owners. And now your proposition seems to indicate that the most important, elite, needed position in the game should be regulated in pay for a situation the owners created.

agreed.

The concussions are a concern.

What about that weird announcement he posted on instagram? Facebook? Twitter?

He and his woman in bed giggling as he slurs his words...Hey, Seattle I'm coming back...

I dont give a crap what he does!

If it aint Orange and Brown it DOESN'T MATTER!!

That would be 144m ... So you where in the neighborhood.

So once we turn the NFL into Venezeula, what exactly does that make Bill B. and the Patriots?

Are they Switzerland or Hong Kong?

I can't take credit for it - it was some sportswriter. I just figured it'd be more than Rodgers got.

So...they had to trade their best defensive player because they couldn't afford to pay him. The picks in return will be nice as long as at least one of them turns out to be a massive stud player. If not, then they made my point for me.

They didn't trade their best defensive player.

And they got the better of KC in this entire scenario.

I can just see the people trashing Baker when his time comes. It's inevitable the salaries are going to go up. When you have one of the best, he's going to get paid.

Fair, 2nd best behind Wagner.

We can revisit this conversation in a couple years - KC probably gave up too much, but I'll have to see how the 2 draft picks turn out before I can say Seattle did better.

The sad reality is in todays NFL U have to pay your top end QB’s what they command ... Wilson is at least a top 5 - 10 QB and was paid as a top QB as he should have been ....

This was a no brainer on Seattle’s part ... having a QB of his caliber is a must in today’s game ... without one your swimming up stream against a major ass current ...

I would fully expect when the time comes Baker will become the highest paid QB in the NFL.

True that.