Once commercial speculation, such as that of Russell Wilson leaving the Seahawks, gains momentum, it is difficult to calm.
There is a way for Seattle to close the door, however.
As established by the Tacoma News Tribune, if the Seahawks restructured Wilson’s contract to gain more flexibility in the salary cap in 2021 and inject money into future budgets, this accounting trick would further signal that he is going nowhere.
Why?
The Seahawks would already incur an NFL record high limit charge of $ 39 million when negotiating with Wilson under his current contract, which has three years and $ 69 million remaining. If your base salary of $ 19 million is reduced and converted into bonus money, your maximum costs for 2022 and 2023 would increase according to the restructured amount. This would result in an increase in your dead limit load, according to the report.
When a player is dealt, all prorated bonus money distributed over the life of a contract immediately accelerates to the current year’s limit. Therefore, a restructuring and negotiation would end up costing the Seahawks more than $ 40 million, against the $ 182.5 million limit, just for not having their MVP caliber quarterback on the roster. This is before identifying your replacement.
The Seahawks do not need Wilson’s approval to restructure their contract because of a clause in the agreement he signed in 2019 that allows the Seahawks to restructure the base salary in bonus money for the purpose of saving a salary cap without their right to refuse. But given the supposedly tenuous nature of the relationship now, it is unlikely that the Seahawks would do anything to do more harm, so including Wilson in the team-building thought process can be seen as an olive branch.
Tom Brady and Patrick Mahomes have just reformulated their contracts in different ways with the same ultimate goal: to free up space for the team to form a better squad. Brady signed an extension with the Buccaneers that included “nullable years”, and the Chiefs converted the Mahomes list bonus into a subscription bonus with the intention of spreading the $ 21 million limit over five years.
None of these defenders are dissatisfied with the direction of their organization, however. Wilson feels limited by the offensive philosophies of Seahawks coach Pete Carroll, and he openly vented about the need for a better block.
The Seahawks have about $ 17.1 million in available coverage space, according to overthecap.com. If they created more, it would presumably make Wilson happier, because it could be aimed at improving the offensive line. He’s on his way to overcoming Brett Favre as the most dismissed quarterback in NFL history.
Wilson wants to stay in Seattle and has a no-trade clause, but would consider a deal with the Bears, Saints and Raiders, according to ESPN. The Cowboys were on the original list, but they made a new commitment to Dak Prescott.