Denver Broncos offseason, trade, and free agency wishlist

Denver Broncos free agency Step One: Extend Russell Wilson

Russell Wilson has two years remaining on his current contract and is due $24 million in 2022 and $27 million in 2023 — a very reasonable number for a tier 1 quarterback.  So why on Earth would the Broncos want to do a deal now, you might ask?

Simply put, the salary cap is getting ready to skyrocket as the revenues from the new TV deals signed a few years back are set to kick in, and with a rising cap comes a rising market.

The highest-paid quarterback in the league today on an annual basis is Patrick Mahomes at nearly $45 million, but when Aaron Rodgers finally signs on the dotted line, that market is expected to reset to around $50 million in average contract value.

Once the market gets reset, it doesn’t come down, so waiting to do a deal could cost the Broncos in the coming years, so giving a raise now could look like a bargain 3 years from now.

Additionally, an extension now could actually provide some savings against the cap this year and allow the team to be more flexible.  Let’s take a look at a deal:

Proposed Deal: 5 years, $235 million, $127 million guaranteed, $15 million 2022 cap hit

Details of the deal can be seen here, calculator in the tweet provided by Overthecap.com:

At $47 million per year, this would place Wilson ahead of Mahomes, but likely behind Rodgers.  Could Russ get more?

Probably, but Russell seems like a guy that would be okay with a fair deal that won’t make it challenging for the Broncos to build around.