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How Much Is Russell Wilson Worth?

By Andrew C. Fisher

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Everybody knows that death and taxes are the only two guarantees in life. But unless one of the most shocking turn of events in NFL history goes down, you can also be certain that Russell Wilson will sign a new contract with the Seattle Seahawks in the near future.

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At this point no one knows exactly when the ink will dry on that new contract, but you can bet it will be one of the fat variety when it’s all drawn up. As in, at least top-tier money in all of the NFL.

PFT’s Mike Florio recently reported that Wilson and the Seahawks have started talking about a new deal, but that there’s no timeline to reach an agreement.

“There’s no immediate deadline; Wilson is under contract for 2015. But he has been paid pennies in relation to his value for the first three years of his career, and there’s a widespread sense that he deserves a new contract,” wrote Florio.

Even the biggest of Wilson haters have to agree that he clearly deserves a new contract. As a result of being overlooked and going in the third round of the 2012 draft, he’ll end up having made just shy of $3 million over the length of his rookie contract, according to Spotrac.

When you’re talking about bargains in professional sports, Wilson is the poster child.

Now, literally, the million dollar question is: how much? Just how many zeros will the Seahawks fork over to keep their Super Bowl champion quarterback?

The Baltimore Ravens gave Joe Flacco a six-year/$120 million deal after he won a Super Bowl and was due for a raise. It’s hard to say that Wilson isn’t worth every bit as much as Flacco.

Another comparison is Colin Kaepernick, who the 49ers signed to a whopping $114 million ($19 million per) deal before last season. Wilson is far more valuable than Kaepernick, but yet they could be earning similar amounts of money starting next season.

So given where the bar for franchise quarterbacks is currently set, it’s definitely possible that Wilson could become the league’s highest paid player. He’s at least going to be in the ballpark of $20 million per season over five or six years.

As good as he is, if he does end up being the highest paid, it says more about how the business side of football works than it does about his ability at the quarterback position. Make no mistake, I think he’s great, top-tier and all of that. But normal logic says that the best player in football should be the highest paid. Not the guy who just happens to have signed the most recent contract.

However, normal logic is out the window in the NFL. Especially when it comes to players getting paid.

Maybe the question shouldn’t be how much Wilson will get, but rather if he’ll take a team-friendly deal to help improve the Seahawks as a whole? He is Mr. Nice Guy, after all.

Either way, unless something crazy happens, Russell Wilson is set to become set for life any time now.

Next: Cary Williams a Temporary LOB Member?

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