Russell Wilson acknowledges trade to Broncos with farewell message to Seattle

The list of teams Russell Wilson was willing to play for outside of the Seattle Seahawks was reportedly very short.

As in one team.

A no-trade clause gave Wilson full veto power over any deal that he didn't like, and according to multiple reports, the Denver Broncos were the only team this offseason he was willing to green-light. The deal won't be official until the first day of the new NFL year March 16. But Wilson reportedly waived his no-trade clause on Tuesday.

On Wednesday, Wilson said his goodbye to Seattle on Twitter in his first public acknowledgement that he's actually leaving the franchise he quarterbacked to its only Super Bowl victory.

Breakups like this are never easy, and Seahawks fans woke up to a dramatically different reality on Wednesday that includes the exit of not one, but two franchise icons, signaling a complete rebuild. Hours after the Wilson trade, the Seahawks reportedly informed eight-time All-Pro linebacker Bobby Wagner that he was about to become a free agent. Because if you're going into the tank, paying a 31-year-old All-Pro $16.6 million doesn't make a whole lot of sense.

He too said his goodbye when his release was made official on Wednesday.

The immediate future for Wilson is brighter than Seattle's as he joins a Broncos team with talent on both sides of the ball. Wagner is now free to join the team of his choosing and will be in high demand for contenders seeking linebacker help. But saying goodbye can't be easy, even if the split in Wilson's case was overdue.