Report: Russell Wilson Has 5-Year, $250M 'Asking Price' for New Broncos Deal
Whichever of the publicly known bidders ends up buying the Denver Broncos, in what will go down later this year as the most expensive sale in league history, better check their purse strings at the door.
As they'll learn, if not already known, the team's quarterback alone could fetch — and supposedly desires — a cool quarter-billion dollars.
"The first order of the business for the new owner will be to sign Russell Wilson to a contract extension," 9News' Mike Klis reported Wednesday. "Five years and $250 million will be his asking price." (Klis later reclassified these numbers as his "presumption" and affirmed that "no one has asked for anything at this time.")
Wilson, 33, has one additional year remaining on the $140 million contract he signed with Seattle in 2019. The star signal-caller is due a $19 million base salary for the upcoming campaign, seventh-highest among all NFL players. His $35 million average annual value ranks eighth among all QBs.
Underpaid in an astronomically booming market, Wilson will land a course-correcting pact from the Broncos — it's a matter of when, not if. And how much.
The scuttlebutt is Wilson wanted $50 million annually from the Seahawks, who refused to meet his lofty demand. This impasse irreparably damaged the parties and was a driving force behind Wilson's blockbuster trade to Denver, where the posturing continues.
Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio suggested in April that Wilson's camp will shoot for a contract in the Deshaun Watson range: "at least" $46 million per year, "with every penny guaranteed." Depending on how deep the next Broncos owner's pockets go, such might be the negotiational floor rather than the ceiling.
"I’m sure we will talk soon," general manager George Paton said on March 18. "We didn’t make this trade not to have him here for a very long time.”
It likely will take weeks, or perhaps months, before Wilson puts pen to paper. But the time is coming, and even Rob Walton himself cannot roll back the cost.
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