Russell Wilson contract breakdown: 5 most important details to know
Russell Wilson contract the richest in Denver Broncos history
Before Russell Wilson has even taken a snap for the Denver Broncos, he’s signed the richest deal in franchise history. It’s the largest contract in terms of total money, guaranteed money, average annual value, and any other category you could look into here. Obviously, that’s the way things are at the quarterback position these days.
Peyton Manning’s contract with the team in 2012 was a five-year deal worth $96 million in total money and only $18 million guaranteed. Circumstances were wildly different at the time and 10 years ago, that was just about the going rate for a top-flight quarterback regardless of Manning’s neck procedures.
Wilson’s deal obviously clears the Peyton Manning hurdle easily, but wait until you get to see what his contract looks like by comparison to John Elway’s career earnings in 16 years with the team. Elway averaged under $3 million in average annual value with the Broncos for a career earnings total of $47.445 million. The average annual value of Wilson’s extension is $49 million. The average annual value of the overall contract is over $42 million. It’s pretty wild how times have changed.
Russell Wilson’s AAV (average annual value) compared to other top 5 QBs
That’s right, Russell Wilson is now in the top five of NFL quarterbacks in terms of average annual value on his contract extension. At $49 million AAV, Wilson trails only Green Bay Packers quarterback and reigning back-to-back MVP Aaron Rodgers in this category.
- Aaron Rodgers, Packers: $50,271,667
- Russell Wilson, Broncos: $49 million
- Kyler Murray, Cardinals: $46.1 million
- Deshaun Watson, Browns: $46 million
- Patrick Mahomes, Chiefs: $45 million
This deal for Wilson falls right in line with other mega contracts that are being signed, sandwiched between the two biggest deals signed throughout the rest of the 2022 offseason (Rodgers, Murray).