It’s no secret that Russell Wilson hasn’t lived up to the hype — or his massive contract — in his first season with the Denver Broncos.
The man who gave Wilson the $250 million extension, General Manager George Paton, and the man who has struggled to connect with Wilson, head coach Nathaniel Hackett, are firmly entrenched on the hot seat.
Should Wilson, who has led the Broncos to a 3-10 record, be right there with them?
Probably.
But the unfortunate reality of the situation in the NFL is that contracts and salary caps can often keep teams from making the decisions they should be making.
Let’s look at Wilson’s contract and what would happen if the Broncos cut the 34-year-old quarterback.
Russell Wilson contract details:
The full terms of the contract Paton signed Wilson to in September, before he ever played a down of football in a Broncos uniform, are $242,588,236 over five years, including a $50,000,000 signing bonus, $161,000,000 guaranteed, and an average annual salary of $48,517,647, per Spotrac. With the extension, Wilson is tied to the Broncos until 2029.
What would happen if the Broncos release Wilson?
Simply put, releasing Wilson would cause a salary cap nightmare for the Broncos. The nine-time Pro Bowler would carry a $107 million dead cap hit, which would account for over half of the Broncos salary cap based on the 2022 number of $208.2 million.
The Broncos could theoretically ease the pain by designating Wilson a post-June 1 cut, which would let them spread the dead hit over two years. But even that option would be painful.
The verdict:
Long story short, if the Broncos are convinced they are going nowhere fast with Wilson as their QB1, it could be manageable to take on the dead cap hit. Pull the plug on the Wilson experiment, treat 2023 as a rebuilding year, trade off assets such as Courtland Sutton, and prepare to make a run at Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams in the 2024 NFL Draft.
If the Broncos truly believe they are a coach away from competing then they’ll likely run it back with Wilson for at least one more season.
If it were up to me, I’d be doing everything in my power to ensure Williams is the next franchise QB in the Mile High City.
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