Russell Wilson and the Denver Broncos have agreed to a five-year, $245 million contract extension.
With two years remaining on Wilson's contract, the Broncos could have waited until the 2022 season to see if a large extension made sense. Instead, they stood firm in their belief that the 33-year-old is the missing piece to their playoff puzzle.
Wilson will return to Seattle in Week 1 with a new team and a new contract.
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Wilson's five-year extension pays him $49 million per year, putting him just behind back-to-back MVP Aaron Rodgers ($50.3 million) and ahead of Kyler Murray ($46.1 million). However, the guaranteed $165 million falls short of Deshaun Watson's fully guaranteed $230 million deal.
Wilson takes over in Denver under former Green Bay Packers offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett after a decade in Seattle under Pete Carroll's ground-first approach. Since acquiring Wilson, who helped Seattle to 10-plus wins in eight of his ten seasons, expectations in Denver have skyrocketed.
Wilson, the NFL's most beautiful deep-ball thrower, will help open up a limited Broncos offense, and this is his chance to prove he can win while cooking.
Wilson and the Denver Broncos agreed to a five-year, $245 million contract extension, with $165 million guaranteed, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported Thursday, citing sources.
The quarterback's contract in Seattle had two seasons left on it, so the extension keeps him in Denver for the next seven years.
The plan was always to extend Wilson after spending players and draft picks to acquire him from the Seattle Seahawks in March. Before signing the long-term contract, both parties waited for the new Walton-Penner ownership group to be approved and weigh in.
