Tag: highest-paid player

ESPN ranks Seahawks Russell Wilson top NFL QB behind Patrick Mahomes

ESPN ranks Seattle Seahawks Russell Wilson the top NFL quarterback only behind Kansas City Chiefs signal-caller, Patrick Mahomes

Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes just signed a major contract extension ousting Seattle Seahawks signal-caller Russell Wilson as the highest-paid player in the league.

Financials aside and ahead of the 2020 season, ESPN questioned more than 50 executives, coaches, scouts, and players to put together its rankings of the top quarterbacks around the NFL.

Once again, Mahomes lands ahead of Russell Wilson in the top spot. Wilson, however, remains right behind him at No. 2 overall.

“Wilson dominated the second-place voting as he leans into his prime years, gaining strength while his peers age,” writes ESPN staff writer Jeremy Fowler. “He’s coming off one of his most efficient seasons with a 6.2 touchdown-interception ratio, tops for anyone who also ranked top-10 in passing yardage.”

The argument can be made that Wilson is able to put up his impressive numbers despite not having a superstar roster surrounding him on the field at all times.

“Wilson thrives off unscripted plays so much that some don’t consider him a rhythm-and-timing passer,” Fowler continues. “Former Seahawks receivers are known to have to recalibrate their route running after years of just scrambling to get open in Seattle. But who really cares when Wilson is tied with Mahomes with 17 touchdowns under duress since 2018, despite having a lesser supporting cast?”

So heading into the season, Wilson will have yet another reason to prove that he’s truly deserving of being named the best quarterback in the league.

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Patrick Mahomes dethrones Russell Wilson as highest-paid NFL player

There is a new top dog as far as quarterback contracts – Chiefs Patrick Mahomes is now set to earn more than Seahawks QB Russell Wilson.

There is a new top dog in the NFL, at least as far as contracts are concerned. Last April, when Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson signed a four-year extension worth $140 million, he became the highest-paid player in football with one of the richest deals in league history.

Wilson’s time as the league’s highest-paid player – a little under 15 whole months – has come to an end. Now, this lauded distinction belongs to  Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, and it may be quite some time before someone wrestles it away from him.

On Monday afternoon, ESPN’s Adam Schefter announced Mahomes and the Chiefs came to terms on a staggering 10-year extension, keeping the reigning Super Bowl MVP in Kansas City until 2031.

While the specific numbers have yet to be determined, Schefter is reporting the deal is going to be over $400 million in total value. Interestingly, Mahomes still has two years left on his current deal, worth $27.6 million.

With the power of simple addition on our side, it is reasonable to assume his deal will be at least $427 million in total, which would break Los Angeles Angel Mike Trout’s record-setting contract of 12-years, $426.5 million – which is currently the most expensive contract in North American sports history.

What is interesting is the possibility Mahomes’ monstrosity of a deal could be potentially tied to a set percentage of the salary cap, instead of a set yearly average. If this is the case, Mahomes will have negotiated something Wilson and his agent Mark Rodgers couldn’t last year.

It was rumored Wilson and Rodgers were angling to have that be an aspect of his extension, however, such a historic move never came to fruition for the Seahawks signal-caller.

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Projected 2020 NFL salary cap could reach $201.2M

The Seattle Seahawks and all other NFL clubs around the league have now be informed of the potential salary cap increase for the 2020 season.

The Seattle Seahawks and all other NFL clubs around the league have now be informed of the potential salary cap increase for the 2020 season.

The new cap amount could fall somewhere between $196.8 million to $201.2 million, at least an $8 million increase over this year’s number.

Based on these figures, this would mark the seventh consecutive season the cap has increased more than $10 million per team. According to NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport, the total projected player costs could be more than $7.7 billion in 2020.

Per Over the Cap, the Seahawks’ current total liabilities for next season are roughly $139 million with a projected cap space of just over $66 million – plenty of money to lock up a few players to contract extensions.

The numbers could change slightly once the official 2020 salary cap increase has been finalized.

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