Yesterday marked the seven-year anniversary of the last time the Seattle Seahawks played in the Super Bowl. We don’t need to revisit what happened in that game – instead let’s focus on the future and how this franchise can get back to the top of the NFL mountain.
The good news is that Seattle already has the most important element for any team trying to become a contender: they have a quality franchise quarterback on their roster. Even when he’s not playing at his best as was the case during the 2021 season, Russell Wilson is a top-10 QB in this league.
Some people think the Seahawks would be better off with a different quarterback leading the way – or at least a less expensive one. Wilson is scheduled to have the sixth largest cap number of any QB in the NFL this year at $37 million.
Speaking in an interview earlier this week on 950 KJR, former Seahawks linebacker K.J. Wright suggested that Wilson should take a paycut to help his team compete – similar to what Tom Brady did for the Patriots.
“You never want to count anybody’s pockets, but if you have all this money and your goal is to win, then you have to take a little bit less to eat so everybody can eat. We saw how Brady did it and look at him now.”
–@KJ_WRIGHT34 with us talking about Russell Wilson’s contract
— Dick Fain (@dickfain) February 1, 2022
It certainly doesn’t hurt to have a quarterback on a rookie contract (as the Bengals do with Joe Burrow), but it’s also not a prerequisite for success.
The Rams made it to the Super Bowl despite Matt Stafford having a $23 million cap hit this year. Last season, the Bucs did it with Tom Brady taking up over $20 million, as well.
In any case, this idea doesn’t sit well with us. We respect Wright and everything he did for this franchise, but Wilson has earned his money and it’s not right to suggest he should take anything less than his fair market value.
