Russell Wilson Agrees to Contract Extension With Seahawks, Becomes Highest-Paid Player in NFL
Russell Wilson and the Seahawks have agreed on a contract extension that will keep the five-time Pro Bowl quarterback in Seattle for four more years.
Wilson said he would not sign a deal after his self-imposed deadline of April 15. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports that Wilson will sign a record-setting four-year, $140 million contract extension, which includes a $65 million signing bonus.
Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers agreed to a four-year, $134 million extension in August 2018, that topped Matt Ryan's five-year, $150 million deal with the Falcons as the highest-paying annual deal in the NFL. Wilson will earn $19 million in 2019 as he plays out the final year of the four-year, $87.6 million deal he agreed to in July 2015 and then start making an NFL record $35 million annually in his new deal starting in 2020.
Wilson, who helped the Seahawks win Super Bowl XLVIII in 2014, is now under contract with the team through the 2023 season. The 30-year-old has started every game of his career and the Seahawks have gone 75-36-1 in those contests.
Seattle has only missed the playoffs one time in Wilson’s career—in 2017 when they went 9–7. This past season, the Seahawks lost to the Cowboys in the wild-card round 24-22.
