Evidently, all the rain that is typical in Seattle has leaked through Russell Wilson's scalp and waterlogged his brain. Through his agent, Wilson has made it known he wishes to be the highest paid player in the entire NFL. Not eventually. Now.
Russell seems to be a nice enough sort of guy, but this sort of grossly overvaluing his worth has earned him a place in the Bonehead Files.
Like any NFL quarterback, Wilson was great in high school. He spent 3 years at NC State playing football, and his last year was the worst. His coach had expressed concerns that Russell's dabbling in baseball was detracting from his football mentality. So they parted ways and Wilson transferred to Wisconsin. The Badgers won the Big Ten that year but got beat in the Rose Bowl by Oregon. No shame there.
Though he had put up some pretty good numbers both passing and rushing for Wisconsin, when it came NFL draft time, Wilson fell all the way to the 12th pick of the 3rd round -- 75th overall. The Seahawks needed a QB and they took a "flier" on Wilson. It's not like other teams were clamoring for his services.
As we know, that turned out well. Within a few short years, Wilson would be a Super Bowl champion. Just a few short months ago, they made it back to the Big Dance again -- but lost.
But here's the thing. The main reason why Seattle has been so good in recent years was largely due to Wilson's original rookie contract. Four years at a total of roughly $3 million. To be sure, that sounds cheap but, hey, he was only a 3rd round draft choice to begin with. Nobody expected him to be a Brady, Manning, or Rodgers. For that matter, he still isn't. Yes, he's mobile and quite accurate with his throws, but didn't his own bonehead pass likely cost the Seahawks another Super Bowl victory in the waning moments back in February?
By not having to shell out big bucks to Wilson, the Seahawks had money to spend elsewhere on terrific players. Their defense was ferocious and some guy named Marshawn Lynch seemed to be a pretty good running back, to put it mildly. It wasn't so much about Wilson leading them to victory, but more about not screwing it up. The Seahawks were loaded across the board.
Recently, they obtained All-World tight end Jimmy Graham, formerly of the New Orleans Saints, via free agency. He more than offsets the recent loss of Golden Tate to the perennial wannabe Detroit Lions.
Whether or not the Seahawks are foolish enough to give RW a mega-contract remains to be seen. But they can't have it both ways. That pesky thing called a salary cap would come into play. If they shower Wilson with money, some other high-paid players that made the team great in the first place would have to go.
Further yet, does Russell really have the audacity to think he's worth more than, say, Tom Brady? Didn't he just win another Super Bowl? And doesn't Brady have the opposite history of Wilson by getting more done with less? The Pats have a long history of either cutting or letting All-Pros get away in free agency. They'll go out and find players few ever heard of, plug them into the system, and presto, they keep winning. Forget about the recent deflategate ballyhoo. You don't beat the other team by 6 touchdowns because the footballs were (allegedly) a half pound under pressurized. It was a blowout. The vastly superior team won.
Look at it this way. If Russell Wilson had been on a lesser team for the last few years instead of the Seahawks, he might be fighting to keep his spot on the roster. He's OK, but not all THAT.
The highest paid player in the game? Get outta here Russell.
Welcome to the wonderful world of the Bonehead Files. You have earned it.
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