Negotiations with Russell Wilson are going “a little slow” because the Seahawks and the quarterback apparently don’t agree on his value.
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, via Bob Condotta, the hang-up in extension talks is the amount of guaranteed money — with the Seahawks wanting to pay Wilson about what they gave Richard Sherman and Wilson’s agent wanting elite quarterback money.
The difference equals up to $20 million.
Continue reading Wilson and Hawks appear $20M apart in guarantees
As expected, the Seahawks are not sure Bruce Irvin is worth $7.75 million.
That much is clear after John Schneider said Wednesday that they have not decided whether to pick up the 2016 option on the 2012 first-round player.
“Those options can be tricky,” the GM said. “That’s all I can get into right now.”
He might not want to get into it, but his meaning is clear: Picking up the option would set a baseline for any future contract negotiations while also forcing the Hawks to take a certain direction with their 2016 salary cap.
It’s hard to see the Hawks exercising the option when they don’t know what Russell Wilson’s contract will look like in 2016 and might not have decided what they are doing with Russell Okung.
Continue reading Hawks aren’t sure Irvin is worth $7.75 million
Russell Wilson has been the center of attention in Seattle all month — whether it has been talk of his contract, the recent team-building trip to Maui he organized or his talk about baseball.
His HBO interview with Bryant Gumbel caught a lot of attention due to his comments about his “dream” of playing baseball. We’ve already dismissed all of the conspiracy theories surrounding those comments, and Wilson today waved off any concerns himself, saying he is focused on his future as a football player.
“I didn’t say I was going to leave the NFL,” Wilson told ESPN’s The Herd. “I love playing the game of football. To be one of 32 men in the world who get to do what I do, it’s a special thing, and I’ve been able to play in two Super Bowls and I’m only 26 years old. That’s been a blessing.”
Contract negotiations with the Seahawks reportedly have not gone very far, and neither side is saying much.
Continue reading Wilson: ‘I can’t wait to play (football) again’
John Schneider sent a pretty strong message Wednesday about Russell Wilson’s contract, making it clear the Seahawks are not going to mortgage the rest of the roster for the sake of the quarterback.
Talking to KIRO Radio, he twice referred to football as the “ultimate team sport,” talked about keeping as many players as possible and said the Hawks need to “protect” themselves and “make smart decisions.”
The Seahawks are negotiating with Wilson’s agent, Mark Rodgers, but reportedly have not made much progress. Speculation is that Rodgers — a baseball agent — is working in baseball terms rather than football terms, not in sync with NFL economics. That was the fear when Wilson moved off veteran NFL agent Bus Cook and let Rodgers handle it.
“Every negotiation is unique … and this is no different,” Schneider told KIRO’s Dori Monson. “It’s the ultimate team sport. He’s our quarterback. We’d love him to be our quarterback. But the thing is we need to keep as many of these guys together as we possibly can.”
Continue reading Schneider needs Wilson’s agent to be a team player
Everyone’s going gaga over Russell Wilson’s comments to HBO about wanting to play two sports, with some conspiracy theorists going so far as to claim the quarterback is trying to threaten the Seahawks amid contract negotiations.
Apparently no one paused to consider (1) Wilson was merely answering a question, (2) Wilson is not as arrogant as John Elway and (3) Wilson is not stupid.
In the preview clip for the April 21 edition of HBO’s “Real Sports with Bryan Gumbel,” Wilson said, “You never want to kill the dream of playing two sports.”
Key word: Dream.
Continue reading Baseball talk is about dreams, not contracts
Michael Bennett confirmed Thursday that he did not ask for a trade to Atlanta (or anywhere else, we presume), and he also confirmed he is not happy with his contract but is “trying to be a good Seahawk.”
Pete Carroll and John Schneider both previously have said Bennett has not asked for a trade, but Schneider avoided answering a question about the defensive end’s contract and there remained lingering whispers that Bennett was not happy with the $28.5 million deal he signed last year.
On Thursday, Bennett debunked the trade rumor, started by a Dallas report related to Greg Hardy late last month.
“They made rumors about Jesus; they’ll make rumors about anybody,” Bennett cracked to 710 ESPN’s Justin and Gee. “I never asked for it. I didn’t come to (the Seahawks) asking for a trade.”
Justin and Gee (never to be mistaken for news reporters) didn’t ask Bennett about his contract, but the Tom & Curley Show did.
Asked if he was happy with his deal, Bennett told the KIRO Radio hosts, “I can’t really say that. I don’t know anybody that is happy with the amount of money they’re making. At this point, I’m just trying to be a good Seahawk.”
Do the Seahawks prefer Russell Okung or Bruce Irvin? Because — barring Marshawn Lynch retiring in 2016 — that is probably the choice they are going to have to make. By May 3.
The San Diego Chargers reportedly picked up the fifth-year option on linebacker Melvin Ingram on Tuesday, which raised the question of whether the Seahawks will do the same with Irvin by the May 3 deadline.
The smart money says no — unless the Hawks have decided they don’t want to re-sign Okung.
Continue reading Irvin or Okung? That is probably the question
At UW’s Pro Day on Thursday, Pete Carroll was asked how contract talks with Russell Wilson were going.
“Ongoing. Just ongoing,” he said, per Bob Condotta. “Really that’s all you can really say about it. But it’s under way.”
Wilson’s contract has been a big topic ever since the Super Bowl ended, with plenty of speculation about how and when it will be done. Carroll and John Schneider both have made it clear it will get done (probably this month), although they obviously have not shared any specifics.
At the owners meetings, Carroll said the contract would have “extraordinary ramifications” and “there is so much magnitude in this deal and it affects so much.”
All you have to do is look around the league to see how QB deals affect teams.
Continue reading Which QB’s deal will Wilson’s most resemble?
If Pete Carroll is to be taken at his absolute word, we can infer three things about Russell Wilson’s contract extension:
1 — It is not close to being finished.
2 — Wilson will not play out his rookie contract.
3 — His deal will not be fully guaranteed.
At the owners meetings on Wednesday, Carroll basically shot down all reports about Wilson talks, saying, “There are no big claims about what we are doing that have been made that are accurate.’’
That clearly was directed at ESPN, which reported last week that the sides were close to a deal, and at CBS, which reported this week that talks “have gone nowhere” and Wilson probably would play out the final year of his rookie contract. It also might have been a refutation of speculation that the Hawks will guarantee all of Wilson’s contract.
Continue reading Carroll: No reports on Wilson deal are correct
At the NFL owners meetings in Phoenix on Monday, John Schneider shed some light on a few Seahawk mysteries, courtesy of Bob Condotta of The Seattle Times. A quick review:
With Phase 2 of free agency nearly complete, the Hawks will pick up negotiations with Russell Wilson and Bobby Wagner soon.
“Things are calming down a little bit, if you will, on the unrestricted front,” Schneider said, “so we are hoping to get with those guys and their representatives fairly soon.”
That basically shoots down the ESPN radio report from Friday that the Hawks are close to a deal with Wilson and is more in line with the report by Jason La Canfora of CBS that “talks between Wilson and the Seahawks have gone nowhere.”
According to La Canfora, “no real progress” has been made and sources say the quarterback is preparing as if he might have to play out his rookie contract, which will pay him $1.54 million in 2015.
La Canfora has suggested that Wilson might play out his rookie deal and potentially end up getting the franchise tag in 2016. That seems highly doubtful. Much more likely is the Hawks aim for a draft-week deadline, as they did with Earl Thomas and Richard Sherman last year.
CHAWK TALK: Everything being said about the Seahawks 