Russell Wilson's new $87 million Seahawks contract is a monster

Business Insider

Scott Davis and Tony Manfred 

(Steve Dykes/Getty Images) After drawn-out negotiations all off-season, Russell Wilson has agreed to a four-year, $87.6 million contract extension with the Seattle Seahawks, SI's Peter King reports.

The deal comes with a $31 million signing bonus (tied for the most in the NFL this season), $60 million guaranteed (the second most in the NFL), and a $21.9 million average salary that ranks second in the NFL behind Aaron Rodgers. It's a monster contract, and it comes only hours before a self-imposed deadline would have cut off negotiations until next summer.

What makes Wilson's contract unique is the insane amount of guaranteed money. Wilson's deal is 68.4% guaranteed, which is far more than many of his peers, according to Over the Cap. Rodgers' deal, for instance, is only 49% guaranteed, and Cam Newton's monster new contract is only 39.5% guaranteed.

Wilson essentially passed up the rumored massive $120 million deal for something smaller with a high amount of guaranteed money.

Heading into the offseason, Wilson was believed to be aiming for a record-setting contract that seemed like a matter of "when," not "if."

However, things suddenly became quiet, and it was later reported that Wilson and the Seahawks were "tens of millions" of dollars apart. When Cam Newton signed a $103 million contract with $60 million guaranteed (with only half of that guaranteed for injury, importantly), it seemed that whenever Wilson got an offer, it would trump Newton's.

Instead, Wilson reportedly turned down a deal worth $21 million per year, but with far fewer guarantees and money upfront, making the deal less lucrative than those of some of his peers.

In the end, he got a bigger deal than Newton based on average salary, and more guaranteed money (depending on how much is guaranteed for injury).

Wilson confirmed the news on Twitter:

The deal is good for both sides. Wilson gets paid for his borderline unprecedented early-career success, and the Seahawks locked him up instead of letting him dangle in free agency, when they'd have to use the franchise tag on him.

Going forward, it will be interesting to seehow the Seahawks will pay their other breakout stars asking for more money, given that they now have several players signed to big salaries.

https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/russell-wilsons-87-million-seahawks-140312222.html