Russell Wilson not worried about his upcoming contract extension

Posted by Curtis Crabtree on February 4, 2015, 12:32 AM EST
AP

After three trips to the playoffs, two Super Bowl appearances and one championship in his first three season in the league, Russell Wilson is finally eligible to get a new contract from the Seattle Seahawks.

Wilson, a third round pick in 2012, has been making pennies compared to the rest of the league’s top quarterbacks. Wilson earned just $662,434 in base salary this season, though he had plenty of high-profile endorsement deals off the field as well.

But Wilson says he’s not concerned about his contract as the Seahawks attempt to turn the page on their Super Bowl loss.

“To be honest with you, I haven’t really thought anything about it,” Wilson said Tuesday. “You know, I obviously want to play in Seattle forever. That’s my goal, and I want to be with this organization. I love this organization. I love this city. I love these fans, and I love winning here. We’ve won a lot of football games here, and that’s the goal, you know. Every year I step on the field, every time I go out those doors back there, the goal is to have a winning day and the goal is to have a winning practice with great teammates around me. So, I think that’s where my focus is, is just continue to find ways to win, and hopefully it’s here in Seattle forever.”

Wilson shouldn’t have any concerns about being with the Seahawks long-term. It will just be a matter of what the number the two sides agree upon actually is. Wilson further stated that being the highest paid quarterback in the league wasn’t important to him. He just wants to keep winning games. When further asked about if it was important to get a deal done this offseason so he didn’t enter next year without a deal in place for 2016, Wilson gave a somewhat exasperated reply.

“I really honestly don’t think about it,” he said. “I didn’t grow up with much, so for me I play the game because I have great people around me. God gave me a tremendous gift, so hopefully the Seahawks want me around forever. Hopefully that is the case and I love being here too and I love being around these fans and this community, so hopefully that is the circumstance.”

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33 responses to “Russell Wilson not worried about his upcoming contract extension”

  4. All talk. He is going to hose them for every nickel he can get (just like any other player). Better strike while the iron is hot. Lynch, and that defense, won’t be there when the next contract rolls around.

  8. Though they have to be careful with the term they give Lynch (Shawn Alexander anybody?) in theory, but crazy as it is, he’s priority one, along with Wagner.

    With Lynch a one man gang, and the defense (mostly signed outside of Wagner) winning a lot of games the last two years,it takes all elements to win games. But Lynch, even with all his attention, is still underrated what he does for the team. Hard yards, no years into 5 yards, intimidating running for big plays, bug catches, etc etc. And the defense, best in the league for 2 years.

    Don’t get me wrong, 95% of QBs good enough to all it in the league would love to have done in their career half of what Wilson has done in the first 3 seasons, and his poise and positivity and running ability have a lot to do with that, and a lot for Seahawks fans to be grateful that Flynn got hurt in that preseason game a 3.5 years ago.

    Everytime you count him out for looking ordinary or slow, there he is again making a play and that is remarkable for such a highly stressful position in the bright lights of the unforgiving NFL.

    He hands the ball off once or twice more Sunday, and he’s 11-0 against SB winning QBs in his career, and has two of his own. Incredible. And that last drive, and that one at the end of the first half Sunday, with such little time remaining, are suddenly, instantly legendary.

    But there’s still something about him that hesitates you giving him $20million a year. That inconsistent play that the defense bails him out of. The slow starts in games, where it takes half time or hitting a big play to get him going.
    Adversity hits this offseason big time. How will he react, more importantly how will his teammates react to a guy making huge money, and trying to get back to the big game, in a year from now, a game they were just in and 6 inches away from winning? They had a hangover last year, next will be worse having been so close, and now the $20m he’s getting means the team has less to work with for staying consistently good in other areas.

    He will get paid and he’s earned it for the franchise. No question, given what guys like Dalton and Kaepernick make. And even when you doubt him, he comes through, and as a Hawks fan you think about the days of Whitehurst and an again Hasselbeck, both throwing up INTs like candy and not caring.

    But you’d still like that last play in the SB back from him.

  9. We love you too Russell. Looking forward to many more exciting and successful seasons. Thank you for being the outstanding QB and gentleman you are. Your father is proud of who you have become. We are honored to have been blessed to have you lead our team.
    Signed, #12 EJF

  10. I’ve learned not to read into these types of comments. Most of the time the player leaves if the money isn’t there regardless of what he says. But you have to admit, Wilson sounds pretty genuine here.

  15. Seattle needs to tread very lightly here. My gut tells me he is closer to the QB we have seen the past two games rather than an elite player….great deep ball, can use his legs, but does not tilt the field in favor of his team and can be made to look very, very ordinary.

    That being said Seattle is going to have to pay him and that sucks for Seattle because he is going to wind up being vastly overpaid. To make matters worse, Wilson has a baseball agent so don’t expect to get a chump deal like Kappy…this deal is going to be loaded with guaranteed money.

  16. This guy is really smart. He knows the payday is forthcoming. Don’t appear greedy, keep the media and fans squarely in your court. And especially – the sponsors with endorsement deals. Everybody likes and admires him.

  17. He stands to make around $20 Million per year and he says he hasn’t thought about it? Come on.. I like Wilson but some of his politically correct responses are terrible.

  18. Wilson has two choices:

    Take less, leave more room under the cap to build the team, surround himself with playmakers, and make a boatload of money in endorsements.

    Take more, leave less room under the cap to build the team, lose key players who are essential to winning, and make way less in endorsements.

    Knowing how much he hates to lose and how much he loves the team, I truly believe he’ll take Option 1.

    There are those who will say he’s a fool not to go after every penny he can get just don’t understand his philosophy.

  19. “God gave me a tremendous gift”

    I hate hearing things like this. Does he think god prefers him to other people? What about all the kids born with cancer or guys like Steve Gleason? Why was the gift god bestowed upon you so much better than the “gifts” he gave them. I guess RW’s god plays favorites. And just because you say god gave you this gift doesn’t make it any less egotistical. RW doesn’t seem like a dumb guy but his beliefs sure are.

  20. seattlesue427, the my-QB-will-take-less idealism makes you sound like a wish-full thinker. EVERY fan wishes this of their QB. I can think of only on instance, Tom Brady, where this actually happened.

    Sorry, but Wilson is mediocre at best and his championship is a product of his defense’s success. The guy should cash in while the team around him is still young and able to cover up his shortcomings.

  21. Russel Wilson isn’t a 20 mil/yr qb… He flat out just isn’t…

    20 mil/yr is for game changers. Guys that can put the team on their back and carry the team. Russell isn’t there yet. Maybe he will be at some point. But right now, Lynch and the defense are what carries that team.

    Luck, Brady, Rogers… Those are your 20mil/yr qb’s… Those are the three qb’s who have the arm to carry a team. Imagine one of those three qb’s with lynch, and a defense like seattle has had the past two years.

    Just imagine the packers. If they had a defense that was above average, they would have been playing sunday instead of seattle. But they couldn’t stop seattle. Couldn’t stop seattle’s special teams. Nothing! Rogers put them in position to win. But the defense couldn’t stop seattle.

    Offense looks pretty, but defense wins championships! Plain and simple.

    Don’t get me wrong, I do think Wilson is a good QB. But I just don’t agree he’s a 20mil/yr qb.. There’s a lot of qbs you can put on that team, and they would still be good. Or better.

    Wilson needs to volunteer to take less, so they can keep lynch if they want another shot at a title. They lose lynch, and it will be a hard road back.

  23. I am one of the B3lievers who think that Russell Wilson just might be the kind of guy who will forgo the HUGE payday, in order to keep his team together, and in Championship form. I mean, even at what he is making on his rookie contract, $662,000 last season, plus millions in endorsements, is more than enough for anyone to live on comfortably. So, I tend to believe that Russell is telling the truth, when he says that he doesn’t really think about it. Doubter, and Haters will disagree, but that’s OK, we all have opinions. I say, go ahead, give Wagner and Lynch their deals this season, let Wilson play out his rookie contract in a kind of “Prove it” year, and give him his new contract, after next season. I know, it is risky for the Seahawks to not lock him up before his contract runs out, but, I REALLY don’t see Wilson wanting to leave Seattle for more money. It just wont happen, especially if the Seahawks talk to him about it, and let him know that they are only doing it to save enough money to sign Lynch and Wagner, and still be able to pay Wilson in 2017. GO SEAHAWKS!!!

  24. Wilson is a great player, but he isn’t a great QB. Not sure about longevity given he is a running QB, like Kap and RG3. Game exposes running QBs, eventually. And his height exposed him on that last play. Hawks are not my team, but I do wish them well. Of the recent QBs to enter league, he is the best of them, but I wonder if he is the best long term solution. The question should be, if he doesn’t have Lynch or the LOB, could he still win?

  27. He is the Seahawk QB and will undoubtedly be so for many years…….. A contract extension will be done before the start of next season as several UFA’s on the team need to be signed, and not knowing what his cap hit will be in 2016-2018 will make that difficult.

    He is a talented, poised man……very mature and will do well for the Hawks for many years……Not sure many people could keep such composure after the “snatch” and loss in SB49; He just calmly walked off the field and later did an outstanding interview supporting the coach, teammates and overall effort by the entire staff.

    Congrats to Pats for making that great comeback and critical play. Can’t wait for the next season to start!

    Go Hawks!

  28. I realize that Wilson doesn’t care about being the highest paid QB in the NFL, but I am pretty sure his agent does. That being said, my hope is that Wilson offers to give Seattle a discount much like Brady did with NE because he wants to win more than he wants to be a few million dollars richer.

    If the Seahawks can get away with even $18 mil per, the extra money would help upgrade the line or perhaps even keep Maxwell around.

  29. Defense doesn’t lead come from behind game winning drives. QB’s do that and no QB in the NFL has done it more than Wilson has since he joined the league.

    Enough with the crap about his success being all about the defense.

  31. Russel Wilson is in a great organization that can side along with him to multiple superbowl appearances. Even though he takes less (say, 15 mils vs 20 mils), he will be able to make a lot more from endorsements and merchandises when his team continues to win. He’s a smart guy. He’ll do the right thing.

  32. That’s it all in a nut shell, he is in the best situation any young quarterback could be in and make no doubt about it Seattle is lucky to have him they have a solid QB that’s smart, take care of the ball, great face of a franchise and can run any offence before his career is over Seattle will have been in eight supper bowls and won five.

  33. For Russell, God comes before money! He is not worried about materialism and is clearly happy where he is at – here in Seattle playing for the Hawks! We love you, Russell – I hope we can keep you FOREVER … Go Hawks!!!

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