The question of which team won the Russell Wilson trade ahead of the 2022 season had essentially already been settled as soon as the Denver Broncos released the former Seattle Seahawks star in early March 2024. But as more details emerge about conversations between Wilson and Denver, the Broncos at least mitigated the damage of the worst trade in franchise history.
According to NFL reporter Pablo Torre, who obtained, investigated and published an extensive document that detailed a summer 2024 arbitration ruling related to collusion by NFL owners when negotiating star quarterbacks' contracts, Wilson and his agent Mark Rodgers originally wanted a fully guaranteed seven-year, $350 million contract from the Broncos.
Of course, that didn't happen. With two years remaining on his second contract with the Seahawks, Wilson's demands would have kept him under contract with Denver through 2030. He would've been 42 years old when it expired. Wilson instead received a five-year, $245 million extension, and didn't play a single snap under that contract since he was released before it kicked in.
The arbitration was due to the NFL Players Association accusing owners of collusion "to suppress guaranteed money in contracts" for the Baltimore Ravens' Lamar Jackson, the Arizona Cardinals' Kyler Murray and Wilson, per The Denver Post. Those deals were negotiated after the Cleveland Browns awarded DeShaun Watson a five-year, fully guaranteed contract, which set a difficult benchmark for other teams to meet.
Wilson and Broncos CEO Greg Penner each testified, but the arbiter ruled in favor of the NFL owners.
“They didn’t blink,” Wilson testified, per The Denver Post. “They kept saying, ‘We’ll do whatever it takes. We’ll do whatever it takes.’”
However, "within the next 10 days or so" of the trade being finalized and made public, Denver "started to get cold feet" on handing Wilson a fully guaranteed deal, he testified. Wilson still made $122.79 million from the Broncos despite never playing on the new contract, per Over The Cap.
The revelations laid out by Torre pull back the curtain on why the Seahawks traded Wilson instead of re-signing the most prolific quarterback in franchise history. If Wilson knew Seattle wouldn't be willing to pay him close to the figure he wanted, it makes sense that discussions broke down between the two sides.
Wilson, instead of sticking with the Broncos into his 40s, is now on his second team since being released by Denver. He signed a one-year, $10.5 million contract with the New York Giants in late March. The Broncos ended up with a record $85 million in dead money, while the Seahawks still have six of the eight players they received in the trade (including the picks that became players).
Tight end Noah Fant, left tackle Charles Cross, cornerback Devon Witherspoon and edge rushers Boye Mafe and Derick Hall are all still top contributors for Seattle heading into 2025.
