Russell Wilson is going to get a new contract, but the Denver Broncos can’t afford to wait much longer.
The newly acquired Broncos quarterback is entering the final two seasons of his current contract extension that he earned while with the Seattle Seahawks. With pretty much all of his guaranteed money gone from that current deal, Wilson will be looking to get paid soon.
The real question though is, how are the top quarterback contracts going to impact the Broncos and their franchise quarterback when negotiating a new deal?
Plenty of the top quarterbacks have been paid this offseason, most recent being Deshaun Watson. After being traded to the Cleveland Browns, Watson signed a 5-year $230 million deal that’s fully guaranteed, making it the most money guaranteed contract in NFL history.
Aaron Rodgers also signed a new deal with the Packers for 3-years and $150.8 million fully guaranteed.
This is going to be the new trend for quarterbacks.
Kirk Cousins was the first NFL quarterback ever to sign a multi-year deal that was fully guaranteed with the Vikings and that helped set the framework for Watson and Rodgers.
Once the Broncos and Wilson begin talking about a new deal, Wilson is going to have to figure out what kind of deal he wants. Wilson who is currently 33-years old, will have to decide if he wants the long-term extension like Josh Allen or maybe try and get multiple contracts of roughly three years each.
If the new Denver quarterback wants that longevity, he can look at a five-to-six-year deal that would put him close to the age of 40. The only thing that would hurt Wilson is that, that deal unlikely would be fully guaranteed.
Unlike Watson’s record-breaking deal, Josh Allen signed a 6-year extension worth $258 million with $150 guaranteed. Allen’s guaranteed money currently ranks third, behind Rodgers and Watson. That’s one template of a deal Wilson could look at or he can look at the deal Rodgers just received of three years fully guaranteed.
The Broncos are also going to have to look at where Wilson ranks among the top paid quarterbacks in the game. The five highest-paid gunslingers in terms of guaranteed money are: Watson, Rodgers, Allen, Patrick Mahomes, and Matthew Stafford.
Over the past two seasons, Wilson has missed three games, but still has thrown more touchdown passes than Derek Carr. If not for injury, Wilson would’ve thrown for more touchdowns than Matthew Stafford as well.
The former Seahawk also has won more regular season games over the previous two seasons than Stafford and is tied with Carr as well with 18 victories. Again, this comes after missing three games.
There is one stat that stands out though over some of the top quarterbacks in the game, that’s Super Bowl wins and appearances. Just like Rodgers, Mahomes, and Stafford, Wilson has a Super Bowl ring and was one yard away from owning a second. In fact, Wilson is one of three quarterbacks in the NFL right now that have played in multiple Super Bowls joining Mahomes and Tom Brady.
It’s unclear if Wilson would be willing to take some kind of discount when it comes to his negotiations with the Broncos. The question now becomes, will Denver’s new savior become the highest paid player in NFL history?
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