Seahawks get April 15 deadline from Russell Wilson for new deal

As if the Seahawks didn’t have enough to worry about, Russell Wilson wants his new contract done much sooner than expected. Basically, he wants it now.

The Seahawks have had to make some tough choices this offseason. Those decisions certainly paled compared to the offseason of 2018. Stars like Richard Sherman and Michael Bennett were either released or traded to new teams, and both had plenty to say afterward. There was a huge turnover in the coaching staff as well, as Pete Carroll remade the staff to remake the team. Tagging Frank Clark with the franchise tag and letting Earl Thomas walk aren’t quite in the same ballpark. But now Russell Wilson is giving the Hawks just thirteen more days to work out his new contract. I picture a lot of clenching in Seattle right now.

Wilson’s deadline comes as a major surprise, as back in January he said he would be fine playing out this season without a new contract. As reported by Bob Condotta in The Seattle Times, Wilson said:

"“Oh, yeah, if that’s what I’ve got to do,’’ Wilson said. “It’s business and everything else and I know essentially after this season I could potentially be a free agent, that kind of thing. I don’t think that way — I see myself being in Seattle. I love Seattle, special place for me. I also understand it’s a business world and everything else.”"

Wilson signed his last contract the day training camp opened in 2015. That was on July 31st, and the Seahawks quarterback seemed just fine with history repeating itself this time around. So what happened between January and now? I think there’s a clue in that very same interview.

"“To be the franchise quarterback of the Seattle Seahawks is a special thing,’’ Wilson said. “So we will see where that goes. I don’t like talking about my contract or anything like that but I think that, you know, I think good things will happen.’’"

Don’t focus on the comment about being the franchise quarterback. As much as Wilson gives to the community, all 12s know he loves it here. Instead, focus on, “I don’t like talking about my contract.” Even though the Seahawks got his deal done by the start of training camp in 2015, the speculation leading up to it was endless. Wilson is an even bigger star now, and the talk is ramping up again. Clearly, he wants zero distractions.

The Seahawks have already been talking with Wilson and his agent Mark Rodgers, so it isn’t as if they have to hammer out a deal from scratch in less than two weeks. Since he signed in 2015, Russell Wilson has dropped from the second-highest paid quarterback to the 12th highest. There’s a quarterback in his own division with 10 career starts averaging $5.6 million more per year than Wilson. Frankly, that’s ridiculous, and Wilson deserves much more.

There’s been no hint of an ultimatum. Wilson has given every indication that he’d simply play out the season under his current deal, much as K.J. Wright did last year. A new deal for Wilson is expected to be worth at least $35 million per year, if not significantly more. If Seattle puts the franchise tag on their quarterback in 2020, it would set them back a little over $30 million. Cheap in the short run, terrible in the long run. Seattle was going to set things right. Now they just have 13 days to do it.