Ryan Szewczyk
Quarterback is the most important position in the NFL. Therefore quarterbacks are the highest paid players in the NFL. Last week on April 19th former Wisconsin badger Russell Wilson signed the richest deal in NFL history. Adding another four seasons with Seattle and $140 million in new money. Wilson will be under contract through 2023 and he will be getting paid 35 million dollars per year starting this upcoming season. Not to mention the eye opening 65 million dollar signing bonus. Wilson’s signing bonus was 9 million dollars more than Aaron Rodgers. Which most people think Arron is the better of the two. So does he deserve to be the highest paid player in the NFL
When you think of top quarterbacks in the NFL you think of names like Brees, Brady and Rodgers, not Russell Wilson. Don’t get me wrong he is an above average quarterback but he doesn’t deserve to be the highest paid. Wilson has won one super bowl in 2013 and has not been back to the Conference championship since 2014. Last season the Seahawks went 10-6 and lost to the Cowboys in the wildcard. According to Footballrefernece.com Wilson was 20th in the league in total pass completions, 18th in total yards and 19th in completion percentage. He was3rd in touchdowns thrown but that still isn’t the numbers you want for the highest paid quarterback in the NFL. Wilson’s greatest asset as a quarterback is his ability to extend plays with his feet. No quarterback has rushed for more yards since 2012 than he has, but those playmaking instincts often get him into trouble. Despite dropping back the fewest times among regular quarterbacks over the last three seasons, Wilson has taken the second-most sacks in the NFL.
Granted, Wilson’s interception percentage has been 2.5 percent or lower but he hasn’t been expected to throw it much either. In 56 career games, he has attempted 30 or more passes just 15 times.Wilson has been assisted by a superior and bludgeoning defense for his entire career. It also helps that he’s got Marshawn Lynch in his backfield. When the Seahawks won the superbowl in 2013 Seattle had the best defense in the NFL and he only threw for 206 yards.
To conclude on one hand, it’s hard to argue against Wilson’s value as a winner, and he certainly has all the intangibles like leadership, character, poise to give out an elite quarterback contract. The numbers, however, tell the story of a good but not great quarterback, who probably shouldn’t get the top-of-the-market money that is reserved for the absolute best players in the league.
I think that although Russell Wilson is a good quarterback in the NFL, he shouldn’t be the highest paid. Whenever the conversation comes up about the best quarterback in the league, you never hear about Russell Wilson. Coincidence? I think not. Like you mentioned, he is near the bottom of the state sheet in terms of completions and yards. When someone asks you who is the highest paid quarterback in the NFL, you think of Brady, and Rodgers. Not Wilson.
ReplyDeleteI would agree with you that Russell Wilson should not be the highest paid player in the NFL. He is definitely a top 10 quarterback, but he isn't the best. The most talented quarterback to ever play a down of football is Aaron Rodgers. In one of the worst seasons of his career, Rodgers still managed to put up 25 TDs and only 2 interceptions, both being tipped balls by the way. Aaron Rodgers is just one example of a quarterback who is just overall better than Russell Wilson at this time in his career. For this reason I don't think he should be the highest in the NFL, despite how great of a player he is.
ReplyDeleteI don't know much about the politics of sports, however I am glad you wrote this. I had no idea how extreme the payment to these professional players could get, plus sponsors, all the benefits and money from sales of merchandise, etc. It is crazy how someone can play a few games a year, have it nationally televised and hyped up and their payment is $140 million. That is unimaginably extreme, like the average person is considered "rich" if they make $100,000 or over. It is rare for people to make even $1,000,000 a year. Now obviously, this player is successful and a good player, bringing in publicity to his team, however from an economic standpoint there is no way one person needs that much money. It is likely that with a significantly lower payout, this player and others like him would still play for the team. What it comes down to is how large of a market the sports industry. It is no shock that the NFL is capitalizing on our entertainment, and because the money is flowing so much, a $100,000,000 is nothing as long as they can still keep the person attracting all the overall profit because of his fame.
ReplyDeleteInteresting post! While I hold a lot of respect for Wilson in his abilities to negotiate that kind of a signing bonus, I also have an issue with the way players are paid in the NFL. That kind of money to be granted in a contract is almost obscene, despite how good of a quarterback Wilson is. These gross wages do nothing but further drive a divide in our income level gaps (wealth distribution)--which typically does not add to a nation's level of happiness. Reading about Finland's happiness levels and reasons for said happiness was a slight indicator that with more even wealth distributions, nations are happier (however, we can't attribute all of their happiness to that, as Finland had a lot of other policies adopted that also contributed). Walking away with a $65 million signing bonus is an amount most Americans will never see in their possession over the course of their lifetime, and yet, in exchange for agreeing to play for the Seahawks for the next four years, Wilson put it in his back pocket. While I do enjoy watching football, I think it's time to evaluate at what point players' salaries have gotten out of control.
ReplyDeleteYes I agree when looking at Russell Wilson Stats for this past season you can say that they are not the best. However I feel that over his career Russell Wilson stats have been off the charts. Not only looking at his stats but looking at others too. What were Aaron Rodgers stats this season? The Seahawks did make it farther than the packers did these last couple seasons too. I also feel that if you were to ask someone who are the best quarterbacks Russell Wilson will be up there. He has been playing the game of football for a long time and long enough to make an impacted on the sport and to be his name out there. Like I said before he may not have had the best season but I think we should look at his past seasons and compare them to Aaron Rodgers and Brees.
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ReplyDeleteI agree with you. He definitely does not deserve that much money. All the points you bring up are true and factor into this situation exactly. The intangibles you bring up, like the leadership and character, are great, but there are numerous other players who can provide that. Some examples include Ryan Fitzpatrick, Nick Foles and Matt Ryan.
The other idea that supports this the best is the stats. Why would you give this much money to a quarterback who’s in the lower half of the major statistical categories? This lack of statistical production and only one ring in his past, in my opinion, doesn’t make him worthy of this contact.
It is definitely true that Russell Wilson is NOT the best quarterback in the NFL, much less the best player. However, I don’t think that the reason he gets paid so highly is because of his talent. It is most likely because of how much of an asset he is to the team. If Wilson were to leave the Seahawks, who would they have? Paxton Lynch? That man is far worse than Wilson. And if the Seahawks are willing to pay that amount of money just to keep him on the team, they gotta do what they gotta do.
ReplyDeleteGreat blog post probably the best post I've seen in a while. I totally agree that he shouldn't be the highest paid player and the Sea hawks are wasting their money. I guess in some people eyes he might be an elite quarterback but if you look the at number they say something different. I do think you should of talked more about the economy. But Overall Great blog post I can tell you put time and effort into this piece and you seem like an intelligent person.
ReplyDeleteTo be honest, I don’t know that much about football payment and I think that it was really eye opening to read about how much these professional athletes get paid. It’s also really interesting to see large pay gaps between each player and each team. I definitely agree with your stance. If the statistics don’t line up to deem him the best quarterback, it’s questionable as to why he should be paid so much more than others. Although he is a valued player, I don’t think that his pay should be as high. With this signing being in the millions of dollar range, it’s just increasing our wage gap in the country and continuously rewriting the definition of what it means to be rich.
ReplyDeleteRyan, I am going to be honest with you and have to disagree. Russell Wilson does indeed deserve this pay raise but so do a lot of other quarterbacks they just had different circumstances. When I say this I mean there are not any other high end quarterbacks that have a contract that will need rebuilding or resigning. Their is a reason that almost every year or two their is a new highest paid player. Statistics do matter but with a player at Wilson's caliber any team without a decent quarterback such as Arizona, New York, Jacksonville, Denver... the list goes on. The Seahawks can't take a risk without a safety net, the risk being losing their star player/quarterback and not having anybody to replace him. Not only does Russell Wilson help the team on the field but he has been the fan favorite of the team and a last hope for fans that the Seahawks will be decent for the next few years.
ReplyDeleteI do agree sure Russell Wilson isn't the best player in the NFL. However, he's a proven veteran that stays successful from year to year. Also, you have to take in consideration what he does for the economy of Seattle due to him just being there. Russell Wilson may be one of the most likable guys in the entire NFL, so fans propel towards him because of his positivity, involvement in the community and just how good he is at football. This move wasn't just a football move for the Seahawks, they wanted to lock up Wilson so he can continue to keep the Seattle economy thriving and the demand for Seahawks apparel, tickets, etc. continuing.
ReplyDeleteI agree that he does not deserve to be the highest payed player in the NFL but I feel like timing has a lot to do with the contracts. It seems like every year an elite tier QB gets a record breaking deal and I think this trend will always continue as long as QB has the most influence on the outcome of the game.
ReplyDeleteI agree that Russell Wilson is not even a top 5 quarterback in the NFL. But every year NFL players continue to get paid more and more. This is a trend we've seen in recent years as average quarterbacks have become the highest paid players in league. An average quarterback named Matthew Stafford comes to mind, as he was made the highest paid player in the league in 2017. This trend will continue and as the NFL salary cap continues to rise so will average player's contracts.
ReplyDeleteWhen offering these record-breaking contracts, lots of NFL teams come to the conclusion that a certain quarterback is loyal and trustful enough to resign a humongous contract. Aaron Rodgers and Matt Ryan are the two other quarterbacks that sit behind Wilson among the top 3 highest paid QBs in the league and they will likely finish their careers with the respective teams. It's really about Russell's meaning and importance to the Seahawks that makes him the highest paid, rather than taking a chance on a QB in the NFL draft and not resigning Russell.
ReplyDeleteI would have to agree with you, as valuable to the Seattle Seahawks as he may be, Russell Wilson does not deserve to be the highest payed athlete in the NFL. His impact isn't nearly has high as the quarterbacks who would be considered the "top 5" in the position group, but he is getting paid more because his team needs a quarterback like him, and if he leaves there is no guarantee whatsoever that they will end up finding a replacement to fully take over right away.
ReplyDeleteIn the NFL, quarterbacks are arguably the most important player on the field. He may not deserve as much money as he is earning but in order to keep certain players, you need to pay them a significant amount of money. Russell Wilson is worth $35 million a year to the Seahawks and if that's what it takes to keep him then why not pay him. Also, Wilson brings in fans which bring in revenue to not only the stadium but nationwide through television.
ReplyDeleteThe NFL has it’s right to give whatever player as much money as possible for playing football. What we need to keep in mind is their paychecks are based one how much we watch the games and how much money we put into the entertainment business. Our economy is one way that the player are able to get as much money as they are getting. For instance the government controls our entertainment, in which some of our money goes to the entertainment business. So the more we support the entertainment business the more money the player are going to get.
ReplyDeleteIn the decision making process of any player there are things that play a factor into the final decision of a salary. Russell Wilson not only being the franchises best player on the field but the fact that he is a great guy and cares so much about the people of Seattle also plays a factor into his salary, I think Russell is well deserving of the max contract in the league because of two reasons 1 he has what it takes to win you championship, and two he gives the city publicity and ultimately drives in revenue.
ReplyDeleteI agree, the NFL can choose to do whatever they want, and Seattle can pay their players as much as they want. That being said I do agree with your statement; Wilson should not be the highest paid player in the NFL. I am not so concerned about how much he is being paid but the lack the other top ranked quarterbacks are. As soon as you open the door of paying one player more than others, player and going to want more as well. The main concern here for fans would be that quarterbacks such as Rodgers and Brady will demand more money, and if they do not get that they will leave and find other teams that will. Leaving the NFL in a huge trading mess.
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