The Denver Broncos gave quarterback Russell Wilson a massive five-year, $245 million contract after acquiring him from the Seattle Seahawks last year.
Wilson had the worst season of his career in Year 1 with the Broncos, but he’s had a bit of a bounce-back campaign under new head coach Sean Payton in 2023. While the veteran quarterback isn’t necessarily the problem in Denver, he might not be the long-term solution, either.
Wilson’s contract is hard to get out of before 2024 at the earliest, but there’s an important clause in his deal that might make the Broncos consider benching the quarterback during the 2023 season.
As Jason Fitzgerald of OverTheCap.com pointed out on Twitter/X last week, a significant injury would make Wilson more costly to cut in 2024.
Russell Wilson already has $39M guaranteed next season. Any kind of significant injury that would not allow him to pass a physical in March would guarantee another $37M. At some point the #Broncos probably have to consider pulling him as starter
— Jason_OTC (@Jason_OTC) October 13, 2023
If he’s healthy, Wilson has $39 million guaranteed in his contract next year. If he suffers a serious injury and hasn’t recovered by March, Wilson will have $76 million guaranteed next year.
So if Denver continues starting Wilson and he suffers a serious injury, it would cost the team an additional $37 million if they part ways with the quarterback in 2024. If the Broncos continue losing, that contract wrinkle should make the team consider switching to Jarrett Stidham at QB.
Again, Wilson isn’t the problem in Denver, but the NFL is a business and if the Broncos aren’t winning with Wilson, the team should consider making a business decision to make it easier to get out of the QB’s contract in 2024.
