Category Archives: Contracts

Hawks, Wagner preparing for possible separation

May 4, 2019 cc 1 Comment

The Seahawks used the draft to try to address immediate needs of replacing Frank Clark and Doug Baldwin, but they also sure looked to be hedging their bets on Bobby Wagner and K.J. Wright by drafting two linebackers for the first time in seven years.

Wagner wants to stay in Seattle beyond 2019, but he has seen plenty of guys leave and knows he might join them.

“I want to retire a Seahawk, but I understand it’s a business,” Wagner told NFL Network’s Omar Ruiz on Saturday. “I’m preparing like this is my last year as a Seahawk. If it is, I want to make sure I go out with a bang and make sure I give the city something to remember.”

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Contracts

Wilson did not want to play hardball

April 18, 2019 cc Leave a comment

Mark Rodgers wanted to play hardball with the Seahawks, and Russell Wilson did not.

From Peter King’s podcast: Rodgers, a baseball agent who is used to fully guaranteed contracts, was pushing the cap percentage idea for Wilson’s deal and wanted the quarterback to embrace the “play on the tag” strategy to try to force Seattle to go along with the cap concept.

But the Seahawks were not going for it. And, by the end, neither was Wilson.

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Contracts

Wilson gets record deal, team gets its way

April 16, 2019 cc 1 Comment

Russell Wilson apparently really did want to stay in Seattle — so much so that he gave the Seahawks a pretty good deal.

If reports on the money are correct, the Seahawks basically tore up Wilson’s contract and gave him a new five-year pact worth $157 million.

Wilson apparently gave up fully guaranteed money for a record signing bonus ($65 million), overall guarantees ($107 million) and annual average ($35 million on the new four years).

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Contracts

What a salary cap-based contract could look like for Wilson

April 15, 2019 cc Leave a comment

Russell Wilson apparently does indeed want his new contract to be tied to a percentage of the salary cap.

We had thought he just wanted $35 million a year and at least 63 percent guaranteed at signing, based on what insider Jake Heaps said. But he wants all of the above — which is quite a demand.

The Seahawks apparently are willing to hit the APY, but would they guarantee a percentage of the cap — either entirely or for part of the deal?

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Contracts, Trades

Trade Wilson? Schneider never deals his stars

April 10, 2019 cc Leave a comment

Wilson and Schneider The Seahawks don’t want to trade Russell Wilson, and Wilson doesn’t want to be traded. Yet the ridiculous rumors continue that Seattle might move its franchise quarterback.

ESPN’s football reporters keep talking about the possibility, and recent Raiders coach Jack Del Rio chimed in about it. Jason La Canfora, whose reports about Wilson’s contract have all been negative, posited some trade ideas from “a smart football guy.” And Pro Football Talk, similarly pessimistic about a deal, offered teams that should call Seattle.

All of those people are forgetting one thing: John Schneider NEVER trades a premier player when he has any value. He keeps him to the bitter end. So it would be a stunner if he even considered dealing Wilson.

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Contracts

Explaining (and debunking) a cap-percentage deal

April 9, 2019 cc 1 Comment

Everyone has a take on Russell Wilson and his contract. And some of them are pretty chuckleheaded.

Like the ESPN guys (and many fans) talking about Seattle trading Wilson.

Or the local radio guy who compared Wilson to redneck NBA thief Clay Bennett — basically calling the quarterback a liar who is trying to make the team look bad and really wants to play on the tag until the new CBA kicks in.

Or the lawyer turned sensationalist NFL blogger whose latest conspiracy theory has Wilson wanting to play on the tag for two years and then leave Seattle. Or (just in case that one is wrong) the blogger also has the QB trying to push a new contract tactic.

We all know Wilson wants to play his whole career in Seattle — he has said it many times — so we’ll ignore those first three lame takes. But let’s explain that contract scheme before we dismiss it.

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Contracts

Are Hawks ‘guaranteed’ to miss April 15 deadline?

April 6, 2019 cc Leave a comment

Guaranteed money is the key to any contract, and it’s the most important thing to Russell Wilson in his new deal. It also figures to be the thing that could delay an agreement.

When he signed his first extension in 2015, Wilson became the No. 2 NFL player in average salary ($21.9 million), right behind Aaron Rodgers ($22 million). But he still trailed a handful of quarterbacks in guaranteed money.

With a dozen QBs having gotten new deals since Wilson was paid, he now ranks 15th in guaranteed part of the total deal (36.2 percent) and 17th in guaranteed money per year ($7.9 million) — according to figures compiled by OverTheCap.com.

Those are the two best ways to measure contract values, and Wilson is aiming for the top marks in those categories now. Kirk Cousins has his entire $28 million per year guaranteed, and Matt Ryan has 63 percent of his deal guaranteed, at $18.9 million per year.

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Contracts, On the air

Another deadline: Will Hawks pay Wilson top dollar this time?

April 4, 2019 cc 2 Comments

If the Seahawks were to offer Russell Wilson $105 million guaranteed over three years, it sounds like he might take it.

Just like 2015, Wilson has set a deadline for a new deal — it’s just earlier this time. Unlike 2015, though, he wants to be the highest-paid player in the NFL — no second fiddle to Aaron Rodgers — and have the entire thing fully guaranteed, according to Jake Heaps on 710 ESPN.

But there seems to be a concern that Pete Carroll and John Schneider won’t put their money where their complimentary mouths are.

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Contracts, Free agency

Don’t panic: Hawks can easily keep top stars

March 24, 2019 cc Leave a comment

There’s much panic in the streets about whether the Seahawks are going to keep their top four players in 2020, and it has only intensified after pessimistic speculation by NFL reporter Mike Garafolo on 710 ESPN.

If you believe Garafolo (and others), the Seahawks probably won’t re-sign Russell Wilson, Frank Clark or Bobby Wagner before next year. And don’t forget about Jarran Reed, the fourth musketeer in this contract melee.

But here’s the truth of the matter: The Seahawks have the cap space to keep all four on market deals if John Schneider and Pete Carroll want them back, and they can guarantee they keep two of those players in 2020 without any extensions because teams are allowed to use both a franchise tag and a transition tag in the final year of the CBA (which 2020 will be).

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Contracts, Free agency

Will Seahawks want to pay Wagner?

March 12, 2019 cc 1 Comment

On the first unofficial day of free agency, the Seahawks suffered three expected losses and prepared to lose longtime stalwarts Earl Thomas and K.J. Wright.

But the biggest — maybe most unexpected — thing they learned: Bobby Wagner is going to cost a lot to keep beyond 2019. After Kwon Alexander and C.J. Mosley get paid this week, Wagner’s price is going to vault beyond $15 million a year.

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