The Falcons just inked a $150 million deal with Matt Ryan. The Seahawks have a lot to talk about right now. Maybe 200 million things.
I remember when the upstart New York Jets signed one Joe Willie Namath to what was then an unbelievable $427,000 rookie contract. Yes, I’m older than you are. That amount was for three years, by the way, not an annual salary. People were astonished. Sort of how the Seahawks have to feel after seeing Matt Ryan’s contract today.
The Seahawks have been playing a waiting game with quarterback Russell Wilson. His current contract runs through the 2019 season, and he’s made it clear that he feels he’s underpaid. Now you can look at this two ways. You could say that no one who’s working under an $87.6 million dollar contract could ever be underpaid. Especially when $61.5 million of that is guaranteed.
Or you could say that since Russell Wilson is now only 11th in average salary among NFL quarterbacks, he is grossly underpaid. The top ten quarterback salaries in the league, along with their lifetime passer ratings are provided for your viewing pleasure.
How the top QBs stack up
| Rank | Player | Avg Salary | Total value | total guaranteed | Passer Rating | Career games | Career starts |
| 1 | Matt Ryan | $30.0 | $150.0 | $100.0 | 93.4 | 158 | 158 |
| 2 | Kirk Cousins | $28.0 | $84.0 | $84.0 | 93.7 | 62 | 57 |
| 3 | Jimmy Garoppolo | $27.5 | $137.5 | $74.1 | 99.7 | 23 | 7 |
| 4 | Matthew Stafford | $27.0 | $135.0 | $92.0 | 88.3 | 125 | 125 |
| 5 | Derek Carr | $25.0 | $125.0 | $70.2 | 87.5 | 62 | 62 |
| 5 | Drew Brees | $25.0 | $50.0 | $27.0 | 96.7 | 249 | 248 |
| 7 | Andrew Luck | $24.6 | $123.0 | $87.0 | 87.3 | 70 | 70 |
| 8 | Alex Smith | $23.5 | $94.0 | $71.0 | 87.4 | 156 | 151 |
| 9 | Joe Flacco | $22.1 | $66.4 | $44.0 | 84.1 | 154 | 154 |
| 10 | Aaron Rodgers | $22.0 | $110.0 | $54.0 | 103.8 | 149 | 142 |
| 11 | Russell Wilson | $21.9 | $87.6 | $61.5 | 98.8 | 96 | 96 |
| 16 | Tom Brady | $20.5 | $41.0 | $28.0 | 97.6 | 253 | 251 |
| Avg Top Five | $27.5 | $126.3 | $84.1 | 92.5 | 86 | 82 |
Yes, I added Tom Brady, the 16th highest paid quarterback as I know a few people will be curious about his current rank on the pay scale.
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Who’s stealing money and who’s working for pocket change?
Pocket change is relatively speaking, of course. We’d all love to be so terribly underpaid. But in context, yes, some players are getting paid far less than they’re worth. And some are getting too much.
Based on this, a few things stick out. Joe Flacco with his 84.1 career rating is seriously overpaid. He’s only topped a passer rating of 90 twice in his career. He isn’t bad, but he certainly isn’t great.
Washington’s Alex Smith doesn’t look too great either with that career rating of 87.4, until you take into account his rating with the Chiefs was 94.8 in 76 starts. He had just one season with a rating under 90 with the Chiefs, and that was his first in Kansas City when he scored a rating of 89.1.
There are a couple of guys who will really cash in soon
A few more things before I get to the Seahawks signal caller. Is Tom Brady underpaid? Of course he is, we all knew that. As for his former understudy, Jimmy Garoppolo is off to a great start, but it’s just seven starts. Scott Mitchell looked good for seven starts too. Yes, Garoppolo is much better than Mitchell, but it’s early; that’s all I’m saying.
Compared to the nine quarterbacks cashing bigger checks than his, Aaron Rodgers is working for tips. Of course, we’d all settle for a “mere” $22 million per year, but there are very few quarterbacks you can even mention in the same sentence as Rodgers. Brady is one, of course, as is Drew Brees.
The third quarterback that belongs in the conversation is Russell Wilson. He is second in career passer rating for all time in the league, behind only Rodgers. Yes, better than Peyton Manning, Steve Young, Joe Montana, or any other football god you care to trot out. His numbers will likely decline as he ages, unless of course he decides to retire while he’s still on top of his game. But he could certainly increase his rating before any decline even begins. I’d say his chances to stay in the top five all-time are excellent.
Seahawks know it’s time to talk money
Which brings us to contracts and contract negotiations. The Seahawks haven’t been in a rush to negotiate with Wilson so far. There’s one key difference between the situations in Seattle and Atlanta. Matt Ryan was in the final year of his contract, and would have been a free agent after the 2018 season. Wilson’s contract runs through 2019. He’s made it clear he’d like to have a contract extension in place soon.
I understand why he’d like to get a deal done soon. The sooner he gets an extension, the soon he gets a new giant guarantee. The guaranteed money has soared with each of the last three new mega-contracts. Drew Brees is the only player who got less than $70 million guaranteed this year. And that’s only because he’s older than New Orleans itself. The city, not the team. Still, he sure plays like he’s 29, not 39.
That’s the decision facing the Seahawks. If they want to sign their version of Drew Brees, the all-time franchise best, it’s going to cost them. A lot. If Matt Ryan is worth $30 million a year, what’s Wilson worth? $33 $35? Could the total value hit $200 million? How much will be guaranteed? The biggest decision of all: could they still field a contending team with so much money tied up in one player?
Wilson has a tough choice as well. Does he push for an extension before the 2018 season, so he has a huge guarantee in place before he takes a single hit? Or does he play the waiting game, as clearly the contracts just keep getting bigger and bigger.
One thing he’s certainly waiting on is the next contract for Aaron Rodgers. For what happens next with Wilson, keep an eye on the Rodgers contract situation. I guarantee you, the Seahawks are keeping a very close watch on Green Bay.