Russell Wilson has had no contract discussions with Seahawks as he enters final year of deal

The Seahawks stumbled this past season, but still managed to put together a 10-6 record and a wild card berth. Entering the 2018 season, most of us thought the 49ers would finish ahead of them, but Jimmy Garoppolo’s torn ACL shook all that up.

Now that Garoppolo will be back, the competition is on for who will compete with the Rams for the division crown. However, things could get shaky for the Seahawks after this coming season. The team heads into the offseason with quarterback Russell Wilson and linebacker Bobby Wagner both signed to contracts that expire after the 2019 season. They have several other free agents due to hit the market, but Wilson and Wagner are very clearly the big fish.

Over the weekend, Adam Schefter reported that Wilson and the Seahawks have had no contract discussions since he signed his extension back in 2015. At the end of the Seahawks season, head coach Pete Carroll said that figuring out a contract extension was a priority before the 2019 season.

Things could get a little complicated with Wagner also looking for a new deal. The linebacker recognizes the business side of things, and does not seem intent on holding out if he does not have a deal by the end of the offseason.

The Seahawks are looking at a ton of cap space this offseason, currently projected at $52 million. They are projected at $108 million in the 2020 offseason, so cap space is really not an issue at this point. They could front-load a deal for one or both players with a sizable roster bonus, and carry relatively lower cap figures in the later years.

Where this gets even more complication for the Seahawks specifically, and the NFL more generally is with 2021 on the horizon. The current labor agreement expires after the 2020 season. There’s a decent chance we see a labor stoppage, but regardless of that, the new deal will likely see some changes in the terms and conditions for the players. Who knows whether a player signing a deal before then will have a shot at more money in the new deal, or if the NFLPA will lose out in negotiations. I don’t think this will stop players from signing long-term extensions, but I would not be surprised if there were more two and three year deals rather than longer extensions.