“Very Real” Possibility Russell Wilson Could Get A Fully Guaranteed Contract

Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reports that the possibility of Russell Wilson landing a fully guaranteed deal is “very real.”

“According to the people I’ve spoken to, it is not out of the realm of possibility that Russell Wilson will receive the first fully guaranteed contract extension for a quarterback — something that is a rarity in the NFL — not a rarity, it does not happen,” Rapoport said. “It simply does not happen, but in this case it really might happen and (Seahawks general manager) John Schneider has talked about it in the past, an uncoventional type of contract.”

Seahawks GM John Schneider previously said that they may have to take an “outside of the box” approach with Wilson’s contract.

“We will do that with Russell,” Schneider said, via Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times. “Russell knows there are certain dominoes that have to fall into place. … he knows, he gets it. He wants to win. He wants to win for a long time.”

Joel Corry recently proposed the idea that the Seahawks could offer Wilson a fully guaranteed contract if he was willing to accept less in total guarantees.

“The only way I would be willing to do a hometown discount as a player is if you fully guarantee the deal,’’ Corry said, via Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times. “That would be worth it because of the certainty.’’

In a separate article, Corry offered an idea of how this could work.

“Let’s say you did a five-year extension so you’re talking six years (starting after 2015). Then maybe you are guaranteeing like 75-80 million, something like that over that time, and give him a fully guaranteed contract,” explained Corry, per Condotta. “He has certainty that he earns the money, but the team gets a discount on what they are paying him and and you can sell it, so you are not necessarily getting criticized by the entire agent community so you are not doing a deal that would upset the market place is having so much more in guaranteed money. Maybe that’s something they could do.”

Earlier in the day, Jason La Canfora mentioned that he wouldn’t be surprised if Wilson ultimately played out the final year of his rookie contract, and then sought a mega contract next year.

If Seattle went the route of guaranteeing Wilson’s contract, it could have a big impact on the quarterback market moving forward, given that guarantees are really the only meaningful numbers in the NFL.

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.

This year, 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.