Russell Wilson has agreed to a $1.21 million dollar, one-year contract with the Pittsburgh Steelers for the upcoming 2024 season. According to ESPN, Wilson’s new contract will pay him the league minimum of $1.21 million for the 2024 season, which is a bargain-basement price for a current backup quarterback in the NFL, let alone someone who might end up starting for their team.[1] Kenny Pickett, who will be competing with Wilson for the starting QB job in Pittsburgh, will make more than Wilson with his salary of $1.98 million.[2]
Wilson is a nine-time Pro Bowler who could have commanded more on the open market in free agency, but instead, he settled for the league minimum.[3] This was a very smart business move by Wilson, as he knew the Broncos would still be paying him in the 2024 season. In the NFL, if a team still owes you money when you are cut, they have to pay you that money, but if you sign with another team, the amount you sign for is subtracted from what your old teams owes you. This is called offsets. When Wilson was cut by the Broncos, they still owed him $39 million for this upcoming season. When Wilson agreed to the $1.21 million with the Steelers, that means that amount is subtracted from $39 million, so the Broncos will be paying Wilson a little more than $37.5 million. If Wilson would’ve signed a larger contract, that means the Broncos would be on the hook for less. Wilson clearly wanted his guaranteed money from the Broncos. This contract puts Wilson and the Steelers in a good position, as Wilson has low stakes in Pittsburgh, but also the Steelers receive a potential steal, as Wilson has the potential to be a franchise quarterback. This contract also puts the Broncos in a bad spot; due to the release, they will take an $85 million hit in dead money over the next two seasons.[4] This amount is the largest dead money amount in league history.
The Broncos went 11-19 in Wilson’s starts over two seasons and failed to make the playoffs in both. It was also apparent that Wilson and the coaching staff may have not always been on the same page. Coach Sean Payton later benched Wilson with two games remaining in 2023, a move that effectively marked the end of Wilson’s career in Denver.[5] Wilson stated recently on the ‘I am Athlete’ podcast “I’ve got more fire than ever, honestly, especially over the past two years and what I’ve gone through…For me, it’s about winning. In the next five years, I want to win two. I want to feel the chill of that trophy again. I love the city and everything else, but you also want to be in a place that loves you, too. I want to win, that’s all I care about.”[6] Mike Tomlin will now need to work around Wilson and try to bring the Steelers to another Super Bowl to achieve Wilson’s dreams.
[1] https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/why-russell-wilsons-bargain-contract-with-the-steelers-will-end-up-financially-hurting-the-broncos/
[2] Id.
[3] Id.
[4] https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/39654399/broncos-cut-russell-wilson-take-85m-dead-money-hit
[5] https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/39627564/russell-wilson-denver-broncos-how-got-here-release
[6] https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/russell-wilson-signing-with-steelers-super-bowl-winning-qb-agrees-to-one-year-deal-with-pittsburgh/
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