Seahawks & Russell Wilson Reportedly At An “Impasse” In Contract Talks

Danny O’Neil of 710 ESPN reports that the Seahawks and QB Russell Wilson remain far a part in long-term contract talks and the gap between the two parties is “closer to 10s of millions.”

According to O’Neil’s sources, the Seahawks’ opening offer would pay him more per year than the contracts signed by Andy Dalton and Colin Kaepernick. However, Seattle hasn’t extend him any offer that would leave him among the top tier of NFL quarterbacks in terms of compensation.

As of now, the Seahawks’ offer to Wilson is believed to be a four-year extension worth around $80 million.

It’s worth mentioning that others have floated numbers as high as $120 million in total for Wilson’s next contract with around half of this figure coming as guarantees.

O’Neil’s source seem to believe the Seahawks would prefer to keep Wilson’s 2015 salary of around $1.5 million in place while adding large raises to his current agreement. A four-year, $80 million deal leaves him well compensated at $20 million per year, but the contract would really be a five-year, $80 million pact that would pay him an average salary of $16 million.

For what it’s worth, O’Neil’s source still expects a deal to ultimately get done, possibly this summer.

Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports confirms that the Seahawks offer was similar to the deals signed by Dalton and Kaepernick, which are essentially pay-as-you-go contracts.

While others are optimistic about the situation, La Canfora doesn’t see the two sides making any progress in the coming months and reiterates that he expects Wilson to play out his rookie contract in order to maximize his negotiating position.

Seattle would be looking at paying Wilson upwards of $25 million for the 2016 season if they used the exclusive-rights franchise tag on him. To do it again, the Seahawks would have to pay Wilson $55 million over two years.

La Canfora mentions that there’s still a chance that Seahawks owner Paul Allen could get involved in the situation, but it looks like this will be a topic that could spill over into the season.

Wilson, 26, still has one year remaining on his four-year, $2.198 million rookie contract, which includes a base salary of $798,651 for the 2015 season.

In 2014, Wilson threw for 3,475 yards while completing 63.1 percent of his passes for 20 touchdowns and seven interceptions. He also ran for 849 yards and scored six rushing touchdowns over the course of 16 games.

We’ll have more regarding the Seahawks and Wilson as the news is available.