Russell Wilson puts a deadline on a new contract, and it's coming up soon
Russell Wilson wants a new deal from the Seattle Seahawks, and he wants it soon.
Wilson has given the team a deadline for a new deal. He wants it done by April 15, Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times said. ESPN’s Adam Schefter clarified that Wilson gave the team the April 15 deadline back in January.
There might not be anything to worry about, but anytime a player like Wilson sets a deadline like that, it will get attention. Wilson is entering the final year of his contract.
Russell Wilson wants a contract extension
It’s unclear what Wilson’s deadline really means. If the Seahawks were to come to him on April 16 and offer to make him the highest-paid player in NFL history — not an unreasonable request, given what he’s done for the Seahawks — Wilson could still take it.
But it seems clear that Wilson doesn’t want this to become a long ordeal that drags through the summer. Though, if Seattle’s franchise quarterback goes into training camp with just one year left on his deal, it will be a big deal whether he wants it to be or not.
Wilson is currently working on a four-year, $87.6 million deal. His cap hit this season is a little less than $25.3 million. He’s likely to get a big raise this time around.
What happens if Wilson’s deal doesn’t get done?
April 15 isn’t a random date. It’s when the Seahawks’ offseason program begins. While that date is close, Condotta wrote that Wilson and the Seahawks are believed to “have had some negotiations in recent days.”
There’s no reason a new deal shouldn’t get done. It will cost the Seahawks a lot, but Wilson is one of the NFL’s best players and only 30 years old. Seattle doesn’t want to deal with what happens if Wilson plays out the final year of his contract. Wilson should get paid what he wants, and he wants to be in Seattle.
“It’s business and everything else and I know essentially after this season I could potentially be a free agent, that kind of thing,” Wilson said after last season ended, according to Condotta. “I don’t think that way — I see myself being in Seattle. I love Seattle, special place for me. I also understand it’s a business world and everything else.”
It should just be a matter of figuring out the details. But if April 15 passes without a deal, what happens then?
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Frank Schwab is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at shutdown.corner@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @YahooSchwab
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