Staggering Demand: Wilson Shockingly Asked Broncos for a Jaw-Dropping $350 Million Extension!

The ramifications of the Russell Wilson trade and his subsequent extension are still being felt at Denver Broncos HQ. The bulk of the dead-money hits to the salary cap the Broncos incurred after releasing Wilson in March of 2024 are in the rear-view, though the team will still carry roughly $32 million dead on the 2025 books.

Through an arbitration ruling this summer, we're learning that after the Broncos had traded two first-round draft picks, two second-rounders, and three starters to the Seattle Seahawks in exchange for Wilson in 2022, the veteran quarterback asked for an even bigger extension than the five-year, $245 million deal he ultimately got.

According to Pablo Torre, who reported on the arbitration ruling's document, Wilson's agent, Mark Rodgers, asked the Broncos for a seven-year, $350 million extension. What is the document Torre got his hands on?

Essentially, the NFL Players Association has contended in court that league owners colluded to minimize the guaranteed money in contracts handed out to quarterbacks in 2022, which included Wilson, Lamar Jackson of the Baltimore Ravens, and Kyler Murray of the Arizona Cardinals.

The NFLPA argued that owners colluded to prevent the Cleveland Browns' five-year, fully guaranteed contract for quarterback Deshaun Watson from becoming the new standard. Wilson, Jackson, and Murray were the next quarterbacks up.

However, the arbiter of this case found that NFL owners didn't collude when it came to the contract negotiations of Wilson, Jackson, and Murray. But the process did require Wilson to testify, and we learned that initially, the Broncos seemed open to his initial extension demands.

“They kept saying, ‘We’ll do whatever it takes. We’ll do whatever it takes,'" Wilson testified.

However, it didn't take long for the Broncos to start getting "cold feet" on the subject of a fully guaranteed deal. It's important to remember that during the Wilson process, the Broncos were in the middle of being sold to the Walton/Penner ownership group, who ultimately consummated the deal in August of 2022, purchasing the club for $4.65 billion.

We also learned through the document that Broncos co-owner and CEO Greg Penner had early doubts about extending Wilson at all. In his notes at the time, which were submitted to the court, Penner wrote, “2 years left on contract. Why not wait?”

However, after relinquishing so much draft capital and personnel to acquire Wilson, the last thing ownership wanted was a disgruntled quarterback. Broncos GM George Paton reportedly told Wilson's camp that their initial ask was a "non-starter," and the two sides eventually came to terms on the five-year, $245 million deal.

That extension essentially amounted to a three-year, $124 million commitment from the Broncos, in terms of the guaranteed money. Wilson still had two years left on his previous deal with the Seahawks, which meant that the new money from the Broncos wasn't set to kick in until the 2024 season.

As we all know, the Broncos hired Sean Payton as head coach in January of 2023, and although he tried to make it work with Wilson, the veteran was ultimately benched with two games remaining in the regular season. The Broncos went 8-9, which was a disappointment, but it was a three-game improvement over Wilson's first season with the club.

When Payton benched Wilson, it was interpreted (rightly) as a harbinger that the quarterback was living on borrowed time in Denver, despite his extension. The Broncos released him in March of 2024, which means he never played a down on the ill-fated five-year extension.

Due to the guaranteed money in his deal, the Broncos essentially paid Wilson $39 million in cash to play for the Pittsburgh Steelers last season. He's now playing for the New York Giants.

After the 2025 season, though, the worst effects of Wilson's contract will be in the rear-view mirror. Upon releasing Wilson, the Broncos quickly turned their attention to the 2024 draft class, which was replete with quarterback options.

Six quarterbacks would end up hearing their name called in the first round, the last of which being Bo Nix to the Broncos at No. 12 overall. The Broncos had to get young and skinny on the salary cap to weather the storm of Wilson's $53 million in dead money on the salary cap last season, and thanks to Nix, the team's youthful roster, and the 2024 draft class, it redounded to great success.

The Broncos won 10 games and snapped their previous eight-year playoff drought. Talk about exorcising the Wilson demon...

Again, the arbiter in the NFLPA's lawsuit didn't see "a clear preponderance of evidence" to support the claim that the actions taken by the Broncos, Ravens, and Cardinals colluded to suppress the guaranteed money in these quarterback contracts.

And life goes on. The Broncos are scheduled to face Wilson's Giants in Week 7 of the coming regular season. If he manages to win and hold onto the starting job, that game is sure to have some juicy 'revenge' storylines.

Check out this episode of Torre's Pablo Finds Out podcast for further insight into the details of the NFLPA's collusion case and the arbiter's findings.