Quarterback Russell Wilson has guided the Seahawks into the playoff in his first three seasons in the league and to two Super Bowls while playing on his rookie contract.
After Super Bowl XLIX, Wilson will be in line for a hefty increase.
“It presents challenges, there is no question,” Seattle general manager Russell Wilson said. “We haven’t sat down with his representatives.”
Wilson could become the highest-paid player in the league. Baltimore was in a similar spot with quarterback Joe Flacco after they won the Super Bowl after the 2012 season.
“We are still going to be drafting young players and playing young players, so we might not be able to dip into free agency like you may want to here and there or compensate somebody else that you want to compensate that is already on your team, but just the fact that we’re going to continue to keep drafted players and playing young players should help us compensate for whatever level of compensation (for Wilson’s contract) is,” Schneider said.
Coming off last season’s Super Bowl title, Seattle allowed defensive tackle Red Bryant, defensive end Chris Clemons, cornerback Brandon Brown, wide receivers Golden Tate, defensive tackle Clinton McDonald and cornerback Walter Thurmond to walk in free agency.
They’ll have some more tough decisions after this Super Bowl trip.
Wilson, who was a third round pick in the 2012 draft, is 36-12 during the regular season and 6-1 in the playoffs. He signed a four-year $2.198 million contract.
He’s eligible for a new contract his offseason and could see his annual salary go from under $1 million to $20 million next year.
“It’s a huge piece of our puzzle, obviously, moving forward,” Schneider said. “We have a lot of different models that we work with, so we just have to figure out where that is going to go.”
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