Hold the marriage accountable. No, point fingers at the prenuptial agreement instead. NFL teams that fail to anticipate or assume the likelihood of a swift separation from a quarterback in their mid-30s should expect financial setbacks. However, it’s the NFL fan base that shouldn’t bear the brunt of these consequences.
“Should we erase Russell Wilson from memory and never speak of him again? ‘Right or wrong, I felt we should stick with him,’ shared Andrew Porter during a break in Sunday’s backup bowl at Empower Field with his son Jack.
‘The season isn’t flawless, but we’ve secured some significant wins. I would have preferred sticking with Wilson and acknowledging that maybe it was a bad investment, but we were the ones who offered him a lucrative contract. We committed to that deal, and I think we need to see it through,’ he continued. Instead, the Broncos are sidelining him for two games, facing around $30 million in dead money next year and $35 million the following year. We’ve essentially created this situation, and now we have to deal with it.’
While the Broncos were sealing a hard-fought New Year’s Eve victory against the Chargers, with interim coach Giff Smith at the helm and thoughts of Cancun in the air, Andrew and Jack observed the game in matching orange ‘WILSON 3′ jerseys.”
Dad donned the Color Rush version, while Jack sported the more contemporary look, amusedly witnessing quarterback Jarrett Stidham secure his first NFL victory, presumably signaling the end of Russell Wilson’s home games in Orange and Blue as the clock struck midnight.
“I’m not a massive Russell Wilson fan,” Andrew clarified amidst the Broncos’ 16-9 hard-fought victory, witnessed by nearly 10,000 absent fans. “He’s alright, I suppose.”
“But I sense that the Broncos keep making these significant, bold decisions—signing Sean Payton, acquiring Russell Wilson, implementing changes in ownership, bringing in Nathaniel Hackett last year—and we just can’t adhere to our choices. We struggle to stick with our commitments. I believe we should. If we’re going to invest all this money and draft picks, then yes, we committed to it all. We might as well follow through with what we’ve invested in.”
If Week 17 indeed marked Wilson’s final appearance at Empower Field as a member of the Broncos, his legacy—a record of 11-19 as a starter and a trade that cost Denver four draft picks—leaves a mixed impression. The reaction within Broncos Country was similarly varied.
“I can’t say the decision was tough for me because I was never a Russ fan anyway,” countered Clint Holt, a season-ticket holder from Aurora. “It’s much easier for me to jump on the Stidham bandwagon… I didn’t agree with Wilson coming here anyway after Seattle. I felt like he was kind of on the downside… I felt like we were trying to repeat the Peyton Manning thing.”
Holt is all for a change at quarterback, and he’s eyeing the Windy City for inspiration. “I’m more inclined to go after (the Bears’) Justin Fields,” he added. “I think Fields—I feel like he’s not at his potential in Chicago. I’ve just got that feeling. And I feel like that change, bringing him here, just seems like a good fit to me.”
Holt was so ready to turn the page on Big Russ that he brought a Broncos “4” jersey to Sunday’s home finale—a nice one with sewn numbers and the whole shebang. Is it in honor of Stidham’s first start for the Broncos?
Holt turned around with a laugh, pointing at the stitched nameplate on his jersey. “Britton Colquitt,” he said. “It was the only ‘4’ I had.”
For Andrew Porter and his Russ jersey, there’s always eBay. As for Jack, well…
“He’s 10, so he’ll grow out of his,” Andrew laughed. Then he posed the question of the day to his son.
“Do you think they should’ve stuck with Russ?”
Jack shrugged.
“I don’t know.”
“What do you think about Russ?”
“I think he’s an OK player,” Jack replied.
And that’s the dilemma, isn’t it? Wilson is just… OK.
But with a $22 million cap number, “OK” represents roughly 10% of the team’s current salary liabilities. Wilson’s expected $35.4 million cap hit next fall would account for at least 13.6% of the projected team liability count, according to OverTheCap.com. The Broncos essentially gave Big Russ a Nikola Jokic deal for Jusuf Nurkic production.
George Paton’s March 2022 trade, made in the midst of quarterback instability with Jeff Driskel and Brandon Allen, was risky but defensible. However, the contract extension announced in September of the same year looks downright crazy.
Don’t blame the marriage; blame the prenup. NFL franchises that fail to plan for or anticipate a quick divorce from a quarterback in his mid-30s deserve to lose their shirts.
NFL fan bases, on the other hand, don’t.
“I absolutely agree with that,” Porter nodded. “We keep making these bad decisions, then quickly reverse course, make another bad decision, and reverse course again. I’m like, ‘Oh my God, you guys have got to stop doing this.'”
The sooner, the better.
