You and everyone else.
It’s a good fit.
Current odds of his next team (I’m only listing the first five; everything is +2000 or worse after that):
| Team | Odds |
|---|---|
| Steelers | −200 |
| Raiders | +275 |
| Falcons | +400 |
| Patriots | +750 |
| Vikings | +1000 |
Denver would love it, as well. Their cap hit is offset by what he gets from any new team.
Of course, the ultimate FU would be if he took a minimum salary (I think just over $1M?) and let Denver pay nearly $40M for him to play for another team this season. As it is, I give a snowball a better chance in hell than the odds any team will fully cover that amount this season
Imagine him signing with the QB-needy Raiders for that league minimum, so Denver has to pay him almost the whole $40 million while playing against him twice.
I don’t think this is right. I believe they take the salary cap hit no matter what.
Any amount he gets from another team will reduce the actual salary Denver is on hook for this season ($39M). And there’s no good reason for another team to pay him anything more than the minimum.
Has Russell Wilson done enough to get into the HoF?
- Yes. He’s in right now.
- I’d give him favorable odds of getting in.
- I have him at about 50-50.
- He was, but he’s played himself out of it recently.
- No. He’s got some work to do still.
- I don’t know.
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Don’t know if this is the right thread for this, but Jason Kelce has announced his retirement. The Birds already drafted his replacement 2 years ago though, Cam Jurgens has been playing right guard but will move over to center.
You’re right. It reduces the actual salary Denver would pay but not the cap hit. Still a nice inducement but not the same thing.
As for paying him more than the minimum, I wouldn’t expect it but I wouldn’t be surprised if a team gave him a little sweetener, either, if they wanted to have a credible, though not spectacular option for more than a season.
I kind of doubt there’s a lot of interest elsewhere except on short, 1 year deals, but who knows? Maybe some kind of 2-3 year deal that gives a team a little extra flexibility on the cap in the latter years by giving him a little more up front.
I would think league minimum is the most likely but wouldn’t be shocked if it wasn’t, either. I would be pretty surprised if any deal he got went into the 8 figures though.
There’s really no incentive to pay him more than the minimum (unless they wanted to go over $39M, which ain’t happening). If a team gives him an extra $1M, then Denver owes him $1M less and Russell gets the same amount either way.
ETA: unless you’re talking about a multi-year contract. You’re right in that case, another team could offer more in year 2. But that’s a long-shot.
Russell isn’t a bad option for a one year deal with a modest salary. He’s a better player than the league minimum; that’s what you pay a backup. When Seattle signed Geno Smith to a starter contract in 2022, he was signed to a one year, $3.5M deal. That was for a player who really had never shown anything in the past. Wilson, on the other hand, has some fantastic years in his past and despite being cut from Denver was actually not that bad last year. (They had other problems than him.)
If a team needs a QB, Wilson would be a really good option at a modest salary. League minimum for a veteran is just under $1M this year. I don’t see him getting less than $4M. Hell, Mike White is getting paid that much to ride a bench in Miami. Taylor Heinicke is being paid $7M in Atlanta, so that’s my guess for his floor if a team decides to make him their starter this year.
That’s the thing: Wilson is making $40m this year. The only thing to be decided is how much of that his new team is paying.
Sure, so it’s not like Wilson needs the money that badly.
But with his ego, I can’t see him being okay with a team valuing him less than Taylor Heinicke.
Or even worse, his agent.
First, a correction to my earlier post. I think @Great_Antibob was originally right that any contract Wilson signs will be deducted from both Denver’s cap hit as well as what they owe him. But reporting is inconsistent, so don’t hold me to it.
There’s just no benefit to him demanding more than the minimum. On the practical level, anything over $1.21M is that much more to count against the cap on his new team, giving them less flexibility to acquire other talent to support him. On the emotional level, anything more just makes it easier for Denver. Given the terms of his leaving, I’m sure he’s happy to stick it to Denver and especially Payton as much as possible.
This has been my thought. Both parties involved in the contract process have zero reason to make things better for Denver - doubly so if it lessens Denver’s cap hit as well.
Which makes it interesting, because as of right now, Denver has to shed almost $20m of cap space in the next week, and that still doesn’t give them enough space to sign rookies, which is at least $4m. That’s a decent amount of scratch, and Wilson’s new contract that might possibly provide cap relief will happen afterwards.
We’ll see. Just watching Wilson and Mark Rogers for more than a decade, I’ve seen them shoot themselves in the foot before. I agree that it’s the smart move to take the minimum for a year, and use that to revive the career for a bigger payday down the road, but I also don’t know that they’re guaranteed to be that smart.
One reporter says he’s heard it’s at least on the table: Russell Wilson Rumors: QB Eyes Team with 'History of Winning,' Wants to Be 'Bargain' | News, Scores, Highlights, Stats, and Rumors | Bleacher Report
I’d like it if Russell played it smart. I know he’s no longer in Seattle and there’s a lot of resentment but I’m still a fan, and I think it would be great if he took this as an opportunity to sign with a team that could take the money they’d normally be paying him the next couple of years and instead build a good team around him. He’s not only getting $39M this year, but another $40M next year. If he could leverage that into becoming a big success somewhere outside of Seattle, maybe he could get back into the Hall of Fame discussion again.
My gut feeling is that he’ll still want to have it on paper that he’s being paid more than the minimum, but maybe reason will beat ego this time.
No, by letting him go before the season, Denver is no longer on the hook for his salary for 2025-26. It’s just this year they’re stuck with.
That contradicts what I just heard on the radio from sports analysts less than an hour ago. Let me see what I can find.
Yup, ESPN says you’re wrong.
So does USA Today.
Spotrac breaks down his salary year by year and says that by cutting him, Denver is on the hook until 2026.
[nitpick]
Before 3/17. The league year starts 3/13 (and is when Wilson is technically being released), but 2025-26 salary would have become guaranteed on 3/17.
[/nitpick]
Dead cap is not salary. His release will be designated as a post-6/1 release, allowing them to spread the dead cap over two years instead of just coming due this one.
Spotrac: $37M 2025 salary fully guarantees 3/17/2024 (injury guaranteed at sign)