Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson is wrapping up his third NFL season, which means he’ll be eligible for a new contract in the offseason.
After making the playoffs in all three years of his career, advancing to the Super Bowl twice and winning more games than any other quarterback through his first three years, Wilson stands to make a handsome amount of money under that contract. On Tuesday, General Manager John Schneider acknowledged that Wilson’s impending jump from making less than $1 million to making in the neighborhood of $20 million will have a major effect on the rest of the team.
“It presents challenges, there is no question,” Schneider said, via 710 ESPN. “We might not be able to dip into free agency like you may want to here and there or compensate somebody else that you want to compensate that is already on your team.”
Players like Cliff Avril and Michael Bennett have paid off in a big way on free agency dips for Seattle and they’re going to need to compensate the likes of linebacker Bobby Wagner in addition to Wilson in the near future. However they manage those moves, the pressure will be high for Schneider to continue hitting big in the draft on the young, inexpensive players needed to surround Wilson and the rest of the core for the Seahawks to keep winning.