Getty Russell Wilson said goodbye to the Seahawks.
Less than 24 hours after news broke about the Seattle Seahawks blockbuster trade, Russell Wilson went to social media to confirm he is on his way out of the Pacific Northwest. Wilson took to Twitter to send a thank you message, albeit brief, to Seahawks fans.
“SEATTLE, I Love You,” Wilson tweeted on March 9. “Forever Grateful. #3.”
Wilson’s tweet topped 5,000 retweets and 35,000 likes within the first 30 minutes of his post. For Seahawks fans feeling that March 8 was a bad nightmare they are hoping to wake up from, Wilson’s tweet confirms the post-Russ era is officially underway in Seattle. It would be a surprise if Wilson did not post a lengthier message once the trade is officially approved.
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Wilson Officially Approved the Trade to the Broncos
Wilson’s no-trade clause gave the quarterback ultimate control over where he landed if the Seahawks opted to pull a trigger on a deal. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported on March 8 that Wilson signed the necessary paperwork for the blockbuster trade to be processed and passed his physical in Denver.
“Russell Wilson now has signed his no-trade provision and passed his Broncos’ physical, per sources. It’s official on his end,” Schefter said on Twitter. “The other players involved in the trade still have to pass their physicals. But the teams now will start the process to confirm the trade with the NFL.”
ESPN’s Mike Tannenbaum posted a photo of Wilson along with his agent Mark Rodgers pictured in front of a private jet in Denver.
Happy player/happy agent. @DangeRussWilson and Mark Rodgers landing in Denver yesterday.
Why Did the Seahawks Trade Wilson?
“They might have the most well-balanced team in the division.” — @heykayadams on the @Broncos with @DangeRussWilson now under center.
The question that is sure to follow both the Seahawks and Wilson is why the franchise agreed to deal the star quarterback after his decade in Seattle. The answer is complicated as there is little evidence that Wilson “demanded” a trade, but there are signs that the quarterback wanted out of Seattle.
The media leaks, frustrated interviews and finally Wilson’s agent going public with a list of four potential trade partners in 2021 were all signs of what was to come. The image-conscience quarterback was unlikely to demand a trade, but the two parties were just a year away from having to once again enter negotiations on a contract extension.
Signs Point to This Being a Mutual Breakup Between the Seahawks & Wilson
Trading @DangeRussWilson is one thing but the release of @Bwagz was a gut-punch to every #Seahawks fan — @richeisen on Seattle’s wild Tuesday:
Wilson has two years remaining on his current deal and the price for an elite-level quarterback is expected to eclipse the $50 million mark for the annual salary. The Seahawks took themselves out of the arms race before they were forced to make a decision on their financial breaking point for Wilson. The Athletic’s Michael-Shawn Dugar described the trade as a mutual “divorce” between the Seahawks and Wilson.
“Several sources described the end of the relationship between Wilson and the Seahawks as a divorce in which both sides contributed to the dissolution,” Dugar detailed on March 9. “Wilson felt the team’s personnel misses and devotion to Carroll’s old-school offensive philosophy were holding him back and damaging his legacy. Carroll wasn’t going to abandon the formula Wilson and the Seahawks had used to claim the only Super Bowl championship in franchise history. It was only a matter of time before this marriage ended.”