Russell Wilson contract details: Broncos sign QB to monster five-year extension

Jacob Camenker

Russell Wilson contract details: Broncos sign QB to monster five-year extension image

Russell Wilson is going to be a member of the Broncos for the long haul. Denver signed him to a massive, five-year contract extension on Thursday ahead of his first season with the Broncos.

Wilson's deal will tie him to the Broncos through the 2029 NFL season. It will also make him one of the highest-paid quarterbacks in the league.

There had been questions about Wilson's next contract given that he had just two years left on his deal at the time the Broncos acquired him from the Seahawks.

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The Walton/Penner ownership group, which officially bought the team in August of 2022, had been mum on the possibility of extending the talented veteran. That said, though Broncos CEO Greg Penner didn't provide an update on extension talks in August, he did offer praise of Wilson when asked about a potential contract new deal.

"Right away, we got a sense of how positive he is as a leader. He is just such a dynamic individual. I can’t wait to see him on the field," Penner said, per ProFootballTalk. "At this point, nothing to say about his contract."

Now, that has come to fruition after what NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reports was five months of "all quiet" negotiations.

Just how much is Wilson going to make over the course of his new deal? Below is a breakdown of his contract with the Broncos and how it compares to other top NFL quarterbacks.

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Russell Wilson contract details

Wilson signed a five-year, $245 million extension with the Broncos on Thursday. News of the deal was first reported by ESPN's Adam Schefter.

As Schefter mentions, the deal contains within it $165 million in guaranteed money. That ranks as the third-most in NFL history, per Spotrac.com, behind only the fully guaranteed $230 million deal the Browns gave Deshaun Watson and the $189.5 million in guarantees the Cardinals gave Kyler Murray.

The $245 million new-money value of this extension makes it the third-most lucrative contract in NFL history behind Patrick Mahomes ($450 million) and Josh Allen ($258 million).

Wilson's new deal appears to be a frontloaded one, as NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reports. His extension isn't officially set to kick in until 2024, but he will make $85 million in new money over the first two years of his deal. That provides him with an early raise while giving the Broncos the flexibility to move on from him with less of a penalty should he regress in the latter years of the contract.

The Sporting News will provide a full breakdown of Wilson's contract, including his yearly cap hit, average annual value and more once it becomes available.

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Russell Wilson net worth

Wilson's net worth entering the 2022 NFL season was $165 million, per CelebrityNetWorth.com. That was when he average annual salary was $22 million, so needless to say, his total net worth will increase over the duration of this contract.

Wilson isn't the only member of his family with a net worth in the millions. His wife — singer/songwriter Ciara — has a net worth of $20 million. The value of Wilson's new contract exceeds the couple's current net worth by $60 million.

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Highest-paid NFL quarterbacks

Wilson's new contract will make him one of the NFL's highest-paid quarterbacks. He ranks among the top five at the position in terms of the three most important categories: total contract value, average annual value and total guarantees.

Below is how Wilson compares to other top-dollar quarterbacks in each of those categories.

All numbers are via Spotrac.com.

Total contract value

Rank Player Value
1 Patrick Mahomes $450 million
2 Josh Allen $258 million
3 Russell Wilson $245 million
4 Kyler Murray $230.5 million
5 Deshaun Watson $230 million
T-6 Dak Prescott $160 million
T-6 Matthew Stafford $160 million
8 Aaron Rodgers $150.8 million
9 Matt Ryan $150 million
10 Jared Goff $134 million

Average annual value

Rank Player AAV
1 Aaron Rodgers $50.3 million
2 Russell Wilson $49 million
3 Kyler Murray $46.1 million
4 Deshaun Watson $46 million
5 Patrick Mahomes $45 million
6 Josh Allen $43 million
7 Derek Carr $40.5 million
T-8 Dak Prescott $40 milllion
T-8 Matthew Stafford $40 million
10 Kirk Cousins $35 million

Total guarantees

Rank Player Guarantees
1 Deshaun Watson $230 million
2 Kyler Murray $189.5 million
3 Russell Wilson $165 million
4 Aaron Rodgers $150.8 million
5 Josh Allen $150 million
6 Patrick Mahomes $141.5 million
7 Matthew Stafford $130 million
8 Dak Prescott $126 million
9 Jared Goff $110 million
10 Carson Wentz $108 million

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Jacob Camenker

Jacob Camenker Photo

Jacob Camenker first joined The Sporting News as a fantasy football intern in 2018 after his graduation from UMass. He became a full-time employee with TSN in 2021 and now serves as a senior content producer with a particular focus on the NFL. Jacob worked at NBC Sports Boston as a content producer from 2019 to 2021. He is an avid fan of the NFL Draft and ranked 10th in FantasyPros’ Mock Draft Accuracy metric in both 2021 and 2022.