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After trading for quarterback Russell Wilson back in March, the Denver Broncos and the Super Bowl winning quarterback have agreed on a new five-year contract extension.
According to ESPN’s NFL Insider Adam Schefter, the extension is worth $245 million with $165 million guaranteed.
Breaking: Broncos and Russell Wilson just reached agreement on a five-year, $245 million contract extension that includes $165 million guaranteed, sources tell ESPN.
Deal now ties Wilson to Denver for seven total years and $296 million. Another massive QB deal in the books.
Wilson now becomes the highest paid player in Broncos franchise history and he has yet to take a snap in a game.
The five-year extension is added on to his current deal that has two years left on it at $24 million this season and $27 million in 2023. The five-year extension will begin in 2024 with an average of $49 million per season, according to Mike Klis of 9News in Denver.
Negotiations have been going on for five months dating back to league meetings, per Ian Rapoport of The NFL Network.
After the NFL owners voted for the Walton-Penner Group to officially complete the sale of the Denver franchise, less than a month later Wilson’s agent and the owners got their first massive contract out of the way.
The nine-time Pro Bowler has made it known that he wants to finish his career with the Broncos after he was traded from the Seattle Seahawks. Wilson has also talked about wanting to play for another 10-12 more years which would place him at the age of 45.
Per Klis, the deal was agreed to in the 11 p.m. hour last night after Wilson finished a team-building dinner with many teammates.
This monster extension for Wilson now ranks him as third-highest contract in NFL history in terms of guaranteed money. Wilson trails only Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson at $230 million and Cardinals quarterback Kyle Murray at $189.5 million.
During the offseason, Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers signed a new deal averaging out to $50.2 million per year. Wilson is now just second behind Rodgers with an average salary of $49 million per year, according to overthecap.com.
Wilson Has Dominated Over the Last 10 Years
Since the 33-year-old quarterback entered the league, Wilson is the winningest quarterback in NFL history during their first 10 seasons. Throwing 292 touchdown passes in his career so far, only Peyton Manning has thrown more (306) in their first 10 seasons in the NFL.
With an overall record of 104-53-1, Wilson has the 2nd most wins from a quarterback since 2012 along with the third most touchdown passes thrown behind only Tom Brady (324) and Rodgers (317). Wilson’s 101.8 passer rating ranks 5th overall since he’s entered the league.
Wilson is also just one of just four quarterbacks to appear in multiple Super Bowls dating back 2012. Manning, Brady, and Patrick Mahomes are the other three quarterbacks.
Why Do the Deal Now?
While Wilson still had two years remaining on his current contract, Denver didn’t need to start negotiating with their star quarterback until at least after the 2022 season. Paton apparently saw enough in training camp to understand that Wilson’s price tag would increase after this upcoming season and the new deal would get closer to the $300 million mark.
The price tag of the deal looks expensive right now, but because it doesn’t kick in until 2024, Wilson’s extension will likely look like a bargain because of the salary cap going up around $10 million per season. It’s safe to say that there could be another handful of quarterbacks that sign monster deals and will make Wilson’s contract look cheap.
By trading five draft picks and three players to Seattle for their Super Bowl winning quarterback, the Broncos have become contenders once again. The record-breaking streak of missing the playoffs for six-straight seasons after winning a Super Bowl will likely come to an end this season. With No. 3 running the show for the next seven seasons, the Broncos seem to be in good hands.