As the Seahawks and quarterback Russell Wilson continue to negotiate a new deal with not much happening by way of actual negotiation and with Wilson possibly issuing periodic passive-aggressive tweets about the situation, one thing is clear: There’s a fundamental disagreement between the two sides about how much he should make.
Danny O’Neil of 710 ESPN in Seattle explains the situation via a question-and-answer aimed at addressing the biggest topics relating to the lingering financial impasse.
Most importantly, O’Neil reports that the Seahawks have a four-year offer on the table with a value that is “believed to be worth closer to $80 million” than $100 million.
If the number is $80 million over four years, that means Wilson would get $81.5 million over five, an average of $16.3 million per year. And that’s far below market value.
It’s also far below what Wilson will earn if he plays out the last year of his contract and forces the Seahawks to use the franchise tag in 2016, 2017, and perhaps 2018. Then the question becomes whether they’d use the non-exclusive tag, which would pay him roughly $20 million but give another team the chance to swipe him for two first-round picks, or the exclusive franchise tag, which would pay up to $25 million.
With a 20-percent increase in the second year and a 44-percent increase in the third, Wilson could make close to $100 million in three years under the exclusive version of the tag.
Those numbers necessarily become part of the negotiation, since Wilson can unlock multiple years of huge money if he’s willing to carry the injury risk in 2015 and thereafter on a year-to-year basis.
At this point, it’s hard to see a deal getting done any time soon, barring a major concession by one side or the other. Wilson has too much leverage once he gets beyond 2015, and Wilson currently doesn’t seem to be inclined to provide a “Go Hawks” discount.