Connected to waiting until next year for a Russell Wilson extension, the Broncos instead are committing long-term to their new franchise quarterback now. The team reached an agreement with its recently acquired passer Thursday morning, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com reports (on Twitter).
Wilson is signing a five-year, $245MM deal that includes a whopping $165MM guaranteed. Despite his two Seahawks extensions coming ahead of his contract years, Wilson is committing with two years remaining on his previous deal. He is now signed through the 2028 season.
Earlier this summer, second-year Broncos GM George Paton did not indicate extension talks were taking place, but NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport tweets the sides had been talking not too long after the blockbuster trade. With the team’s ownership matter finally resolved, Wilson is now locked in through his age-40 season.
Although the guarantee figure is not believed to be what will be locked in at signing, per Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk (on Twitter), Wilson is now the league’s second-highest-paid QB. This $49MM-per-year deal places the 11th-year veteran behind only Aaron Rodgers for AAV ($50.3MM). It marks a bigger jump from Wilson’s previous pact ($35MM per annum) compared to the raise he received in April 2019 as well, illustrating where the QB market has gone and the Broncos’ desire to have this rather important position solidified.
The Broncos acquired Wilson via one of the top trade packages in NFL history in March, sending the Seahawks two first-rounders and change to land the 33-year-old star. In the time since, Deshaun Watson and Kyler Murray signed monster extensions with their respective teams. The Broncos also came under new ownership, and Rob Walton being by far the NFL’s richest owner certainly came into play here. Wilson’s extension is miles beyond where the Broncos have gone for a player previously. Their previous top QB commitment was five years and $96MM — for Peyton Manning in 2012.
Manning played four years on that deal, but in the years since the all-time great’s retirement, the Broncos saw their inability to land a successor move them well off the competitive plane they once resided. Denver has missed the playoffs for six straight seasons and has not enjoyed a winning year since 2016. The team has started 11 quarterbacks since Super Bowl 50, including a different Week 1 passer from 2017-21 (Trevor Siemian, Case Keenum, Joe Flacco, Drew Lock, Teddy Bridgewater). The…