Russell Wilson, Seattle Seahawks finally agree to contract extension

Not wanting to drag the contract extension further, the Seattle Seahawks and Russell Wilson finally agreed to a contract extension worth $87.6 million (AU $119.89 million) over four years. Wilson, as was his reported demand in the contract talks, becomes one of the highest paid players and quarterbacks in the league with an average annual salary ranking just behind Aaron Rodgers, who earns $22M (AU $30.M) per season.

The new contract will kick in during the 2016 NFL season and the star quarterback will have a cap hit of over $7M (AU $9.58M) in the 2015 season after the signing bonus of $6.36M this offseason as part of the total $31M (AU $42.43M) signing bonus for the duration of the deal. The total guarantees in Wilson’s new deal is roughly at $60M (AU $82.12M), according to Sports Illustrated.

The 29-year-old Wilson took to Twitter to share his excitement in staying in Seattle with a new long-term deal.

Wilson said throughout the duration of the contract negotiations that he was willing to suit up for Seattle in the upcoming season even without a new contract. The quarterback reportedly got insurance for the upcoming year in case he suffers a major injury without a new contract.

Wilson was a third round pick by the Seahawks in the 2012 NFL Draft or the 75th overall selection. As such, he was playing on a cheap rookie deal despite leading his team to back-to-back Super Bowl appearances. Wilson and the Seahawks won the NFL title in 2013 beating the Denver Broncos, 43-8 in Super Bowl XLVIII. The following year they lost to the New England Patriots, 28-24 in Super Bowl XLIX.

For his three-year NFL career, Wilson has accumulated 9,950 passing yards with 72 passing touchdowns and 1,877 rushing yards with 11 rushing TDs in the regular season and 1,820 passing yards and 255 rushing yards with 14 total touchdowns in the postseason.

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