INGLEWOOD, CALIFORNIA - MARCH 02: Russell Wilson attends Billboard Women in Music at YouTube Theater on March 02, 2022 in Inglewood, California. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/WireImage)
Russell Wilson has confirmed a recent report accusing Denver Broncos executives of threatening him over his contract with the team.
Bleacher Report reported that officials approached the 35-year-old on October 29 and told him he’d have to renegotiate his deal.
Russell Wilson is expected to sit for the remainder of the season, including at Sunday’s game against the Los Angeles Chargers.
According to BR, the team benched Wilson to avoid triggering his $37 million guaranteed money without a contract change.
His $37 million salary for 2025 is guaranteed on the fifth day of the 2024 league year. The year begins in March. This means the Broncos would have to cough up the 2025 salary, even if Wilson sustained an injury through the rest of the 2023 season and didn’t recover by March 2024.
This is all a part of his five-year extension contract, valued at $242 million, per Yahoo Sports. However, the team wants him to defer that injury recovery date to 2025.
On Friday (December 29), Wilson confirmed he had been benched and that the Broncos had previously brought up the contract adjustment conversation. He spoke to the media following a practice game at the Centura Health Training Center.
“They came up to me during the bye week and beginning of the bye week, Monday or Tuesday, they told me if I didn’t change my contract, my injury guarantee, that I’d be benched the rest of the year.”
Wilson explained how the demand had left him feeling “disappointed,” especially since the Broncos had just broken their 16-game losing streak by winning against the Chiefs.
“I hope that it’s here,” Wilson said of his hopeful return next season. The team announced earlier this week that the athlete would not participate in Sunday’s match against the Los Angeles Chargers.
Wilson, who recently welcomed a baby girl with Ciara, also shared:
“At the end of the day, I think that what God’s got for me no matter what it is, I’m gonna keep trusting in him. I’m gonna keep putting my best foot forward every day, trying to be as professional as I can be every day no matter what the circumstances are.”
Still, Wilson sees a future with the team. He said he wants to stay with the Broncos, hoping to turn things around before officials make an official decision about his future.
“I hope that it’s here for a long time. I hope we win some more silverware in the front hallway (of the training facility) and we get some more championships,” he added.
“And if it’s not here, then I’ll be prepared to do that somewhere else. But I hope that it’s here and I really do genuinely mean that, and so I brought my family here (to Denver after being acquired from Seattle in March 2022) and everything else.”
Given that he has yet to comply with the amend, some fans are speculating whether the Broncos will trade Wilson come March.
