Russell Wilson wants to be highest paid in NFL? Of course he does!

This period between the offseason program and training camp for NFL teams like the Seattle Seahawks is extremely annoying at times. There is so little football news that even the smallest story gets blown up as if it was the Nixon Watergate scandal.

Yesterday, Bleacher Report’s Jason Cole reported that Russell Wilson wants to be the highest paid player in the NFL. Of course he does. For the record, so do I. Unlike me though, Wilson has actual talent and plays a position where every new contract is bigger than the last one. If he wasn’t seeking to be the highest paid player in the NFL, he’d be crazy.

This isn’t news, but in the absence of other things to write and read about, the story blows up. That isn’t to place any blame on Cole for his piece. A source fed him that info and he reported it. That’s his job.

People can argue whether or not Wilson “deserves” to be paid that way all they want, but it just shows their own lack of understanding how the free agent market works. The idea that the contracts of NFL starting QBs is somehow tied to on-field production is incorrect.

There are 32 NFL teams, and only about 12 franchise QBs. It doesn’t matter that Aaron Rodgers is a significantly better QB than Cam Newton. Because of yearly salary-cap inflation, and because Newton’s contact came after Rodgers’ contract, Newton is getting paid more. It is that simple.

The same isn’t true at other positions because there are far more talented guys at each position and because other positions don’t have the same impact on game results.

The Seahawks can win with a lesser LB. They’ve been winning for the last two season with lesser wide receivers. There’s no way they’re winning with a lesser quarterback.

To say that Wilson isn’t “worth” that much because he arguably does less to help the team win than Aaron Rodgers misses the point completely. It isn’t about his value relative to Rodgers, it is about Wilson’s value relative to any of the possible options that the Seahawks might replace him with.

In that sense, he is the most valuable player in the league. Next year, when Andrew Luck is negotiating his new contract, he’ll be the most valuable player in the league. The year after that, it’ll be… You get the picture.

Russell Wilson is going to get paid. The final number of the deal is going to ridiculous compared to 99% of NFL contracts. It is all about the structure of the deal right now, and Wilson is playing hard ball to try and get the money up front and guarenteed.

All of this is well known and expected. Lets all try and remember that the sky isn’t falling.

Next: Behind Enemy Lines: Pre-Camp look at the Arizona Cardinals

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