Does Russell Wilson have leverage over the Seahawks?

Russell Wilson reportedly won’t sign another long-term contract with the Seattle Seahawks if they don’t reach a deal by the end of Monday.

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So does Wilson, who has one year left on his current contract but could be franchise tagged by Seattle in each of the following two seasons, have leverage in his negotiations with the Seahawks?

It depends on how you look at it.

Two legendary voices in football journalism, NBC Sports’ Peter King and 710 ESPN Seattle’s John Clayton, discussed Wilson’s situation on Clayton’s show Monday, and King explained the only way he thinks Wilson and his agent, Mark Rodgers, could possibly have leverage.

“What real leverage do they have right now? They have leverage in that if they quite literally stick to their guns and say we’re never signing long-term unless we do it today and they stick to that, well, that’s leverage,” King said.

The hurdle that stands in front of Wilson is that the Seahawks are in control of his destiny through the 2021 season, so if the team’s franchise quarterback does decide he wants to play elsewhere, he can’t do anything about it for nearly three years.

“Here’s what I think everybody needs to know: If Russell Wilson basically plays out this last year of his contract at $17 million and then is franchised over the next two years, he basically makes over a three-year period about $83 million,” King said. “For a guy who has started all 125 games since the Seahawks drafted him, regular season and postseason, and has won 83 games, which is more than any quarterback in NFL history has won in his first seven years as a quarterback, I’m just saying that that is not a prohibitive sum.”

King doubts a deal not getting done by Tuesday would truly signal the end of Wilson’s time in Seattle.

“I just don’t think this should be Armageddon day for people who love the Seahawks. I don’t know what (general manager) John Schneider and (head coach) Pete Carroll are going to do … but I would be very surprised if they didn’t stick with Russell Wilson as their starting quarterback,” he said.

“A lot can happen in three years.”

You can listen to the full segment in the player embedded in this story or download it in podcast form at this link.

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