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Truth Behind Insane Russell Wilson Stat for Broncos Bust vs. AFC Title Roster

The current New York Giants quarterback is still costing his former team in Denver an insane amount this season.
Matt Ryan|
Oct 26, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; New York Giants quarterback Russell Wilson before a game against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field.
Oct 26, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; New York Giants quarterback Russell Wilson before a game against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field. | Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

Russell Wilson isn’t playing in the conference championship games this weekend, although two of his former teams are. He still cost one of them a lot of money this season.

The current New York Giants backup quarterback is in the offseason with his team eliminated long before the playoffs began. He’s definitely still watching games, however, and rooting on the Seattle Seahawks — a team he was on from 2012-2022 and won a Super Bowl on in 2013. After the divisional round domination of the San Francisco 49ers, Wilson took to social media to praise the team and its current quarterback Sam Darnold.

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Seattle plays the Los Angeles Rams in a home game on Sunday for the NFC Championship.

Wilson was also on the Denver Broncos for two seasons starting in 2022 before leaving to the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2024 and then Giants this past season. Denver plays the New England Patriots for a chance to head to the Super Bowl in Sunday’s AFC Championship Game.

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Russell Wilso
Things didn’t work out for Wilson after two seasons in Denver. | Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

How much Wilson actually cost the Broncos this season

A graphic made the rounds on X showing the Broncos owing Wilson $32 million vs. $31.7M for Sunday’s starter Jarrett Stidham, the injured Bo Nix, and the running backs, receivers, tight ends all combined.

While that’s an insane stat, it’s not entirely true.

Wilson was paid the final $39 million of his contract owed in 2024 after releasing him. They avoided paying him $37M for 2025. The team did, however, absorb $85 million in dead cap space over two years from his large $242.6M contract, with the last $32 million of that hitting in 2025. That’s where that number comes from.

So while they didn’t directly pay him, he still cost the team $32M this season in salary cap space, and when compared to what they are currently paying those offensive players, it’s a crazy stat.

Russell Wilso
Wilson signed a 1-year, $10.5 million contract with the Giants this past season. | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

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Matt Ryan
MATT RYAN

Matt Ryan is a dedicated sports journalist with over 20 years of experience in digital and linear media. After receiving a Masters in Journalism from USC, he’s worked for Fox Sports, NBC Sports, Yahoo Sports, USA Today Sports Media Group, and Bally Sports, while holding various leadership roles along the way.

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