The Russell Wilson trade (and subsequent contract extension) will go down in Denver Broncos history as arguably the most ill-advised move the team has ever made. Although the Broncos have recovered from the Russell Wilson debacle thanks to Sean Payton and Bo Nix, they could be stuck in a similar situation right now to teams like the Cleveland Browns at quarterback, and the Walton-Penner Ownership Group would be dealing with an organization in turmoil.
Again, thankfully, that is not the case.
However, for the past couple of years, it's been widely assumed that the new ownership group in Denver were the ones most significantly pushing for a contract extension for Wilson back in 2022. Wilson was already on the team when the new ownership group was in place, as was then-head coach Nathaniel Hackett. A new bombshell report indicates that may not have been the case.
In fact, the report indicates the exact opposite. There is a direct quote from Greg Penner himself in the article stating that the Broncos owner never actually wanted that massive Russell Wilson contract in the first place, even if he eventually signed off on it.
Broncos owner seemingly absolved of blame in Russell Wilson report
From the NFL-NFLPA document made public via Pablo Torre and Mike Florio today, here's an eye-opening note regarding a 6/17/22 phone call between George Paton & Greg Penner re: Russell Wilson's then-upcoming potential contract extension: "Mr. Penner’s notes show that be questioned…
— Andrew Mason (@MaseDenver) June 24, 2025
The Broncos gave Wilson what amounted to a three-year extension worth $124 million, and they've been dealing with nearly $90 million in dead salary cap over the past couple of years as they try to move forward organizationally.
Penner's pushback to the idea of a Wilson extension was simple but reasonable: "2 years left on the contract; why not wait?"
Again, Penner did eventually sign off on the deal for Wilson, which has become one of the most infamous contracts in recent memory. The Broncos took on the single largest dead cap hit in NFL history for a single player when they cut Wilson in 2024. It was embarrassing.
But the team then proceeded to make the playoffs with the nearly $90 million handcuff on the salary cap this past season. They've got a franchise quarterback in Bo Nix. All is well that ends well, in a way, and the most interesting aspect of this is the fact that the ownership could have easily justified firing general manager George Paton, and they didn't.
While the hiring of Nathaniel Hackett and subsequent moves to acquire and re-sign Russell Wilson were awful, along with the signing of players like Randy Gregory and Frank Clark in free agency, Paton has helped build something pretty special in Denver. He has worked well with Sean Payton, and Penner seemingly decided that he either played enough of a part in approving the Wilson deal that he wasn't going to make a move away from Paton, or that he still trusts Paton's football eye and his ability to build the roster.
Maybe even a combination of both.
But the report that has surfaced is fascinating, as Wilson reportedly initially asked the Broncos for a 7-year contract worth a fully guaranteed $350 million. Deshaun Watson had received a previously unprecedented contract worth $230 million in fully guaranteed money, which was only recently topped by Buffalo Bills MVP Josh Allen, who got $250 million guaranteed.
Wilson was asking for more than $100 million more in fully guaranteed money than the biggest guarantee in NFL history, which had already blown away every previous guarantee in league history by a lot.
It's a wonder the Broncos were able to talk him down to the deal that ended up being $245 million in total money with $165 million guaranteed. And even typing those numbers again is painful, but it was perhaps justifiable at the time based on Wilson's prior pedigree. He was almost a guaranteed ticket to the postseason in Seattle and had a dominant 10-year stretch as one of the best dual-threat quarterbacks in league history.
He was supposed to come to Denver and be the second-coming of Peyton Manning, but it was obviously a complete disaster instead.
And Penner, although new to the NFL, is a smart businessman, to say the least. His questioning of the idea to give Wilson a new deal is the latest bit of evidence that the Broncos are under good management. Again, you can't deny that he eventually did approve the deal; this report seemingly puts the lion's share of the blame on GM George Paton, who has done well with his new life after the Wilson debacle.