Super Bowl-winning quarterback Russell Wilson is preparing himself for what promises to be a huge payday that’s expected to come following the season.
Wilson, in a leak to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, announced that he has moved on from agent Bus Cook and will likely go with his baseball agent, Mark Rodgers.
In a memo the NFL sent teams today, it informed them that Seahawks QB Russell Wilson, eligible for a new deal after this season, is changing agents, per sources.
Another source said that Wilson is likely to go with his baseball agent, Mark Rodgers. Wilson did speak recently with his former NFL agent Bus Cook, and praised Cook but wanted to keep all his business with one agent, thus the change.
A source close to Wilson said Cook was not fired, but simply the quarterback was making a change.
A couple things strike this as odd.
As Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio indicates, Rodgers does not have a single client in the National Football League. Meanwhile, Cook is among the most active agents around the football world.
This obviously doesn’t mean that Wilson is quitting football to explore a career with the Texas Rangers, who actually own his baseball rights.
Instead, it’s an indication that Wilson wants to buck the recent trend of young quarterbacks taking year-by-year contracts. Remember, Colin Kaepernick’s “record” deal actually affords San Francisco the right to release him at any time without taking a long-term salary cap hit. The same can be said for Andy Dalton, who signed a mega-deal just months ago.
This makes perfect sense. Wilson has been more successful than either of those quarterbacks. The interesting dynamic here is that any thought of the young signal caller taking less in order for Seattle to retain other important players is pretty much thrown out the window with this move.
It’s also interesting that Wilson would go out of his way to make it known that he didn’t fire Cook. Wilson ended the relationship with Cook, which means the agent was relieved of his duties; fired.
It’s one thing to go out of your way to maintain a clean image to the press. It’s a completely different thing to make it so darn obvious. It’s a business, and Wilson has every right in the world to do what’s best for his bottom line.
No matter what happens to end the season and in the playoffs, Wilson is going to get paid this upcoming offseason. Suggestions are that his deal will be somewhere north of $20 million per season.
And to be honest, this latest move makes it feel like Wilson will be going for the cash.
Photo: USA Today