Broncos sign Russell Wilson to $245 million contract extension

The arms race to sign elite quarterbacks to contract extensions continued Thursday.

The Denver Broncos inked former Super Bowl champion quarterback Russell Wilson to a five-year, $245 million extension with $165 million guaranteed.

At $49 million per year, the deal makes Wilson the second-highest-paid signal-caller in the NFL behind Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers ($50.27 million).

Wilson, 33, was set to become a free agent after the 2023 season. He is now under contract through 2028.

The deal was expected before the start of the season after Denver traded a haul to the Seattle Seahawks to acquire Wilson.

Wilson joins Rodgers, Arizona’s Kyler Murray and Cleveland’s Deshaun Watson as star quarterbacks to sign mega-deals this year. Murray received $46.1 million per year and $160 million guaranteed over five years, while the Browns gave Watson a fully guaranteed contract at $46 million per season across five years. 

Wilson’s contract could throw another wrench into the Ravens’ negotiations with superstar Lamar Jackson. The negotiations — or lack thereof at times — have been a common topic of conversation this offseason, with many confused about why Jackson didn’t seem worried about signing long-term. The two sides are negotiating, although Jackson doesn’t have an agent. 

Jackson could want a deal closer to what Watson got, but the contracts that Murray and Wilson received could prove that the Watson contract — which drew the ire of many in the NFL world due to the two dozen allegations of sexual misconduct against him — was an outlier.