Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson does not intend to sign a contract extension with the team this season if he does not reach an agreement by his self-imposed deadline of midnight Monday, sources told ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
It will be a challenge to get a new deal done by that deadline, though the sides are trying as talks continue, sources told Schefter.
Wilson’s contract is up after this season. If a new contract is not agreed on, the Seahawks presumably will place their franchise tag on Wilson.
Wilson is expected to participate in all of the Seahawks’ offseason activities and attend training camp.
As for suggestions that the Seahawks could trade Wilson if he does not sign a new deal, there are no obvious teams willing to surrender draft picks or pay Wilson what he is seeking, sources said.
In 2015, Wilson also set a deadline for an extension, but that wasn’t until the start of training camp, and the two sides agreed on a four-year, $87.6 million deal at the last minute. After that extension, Wilson said he would have tabled contract talks and played out the final year of his rookie contract had the two sides not met the deadline.
His last deal made him the NFL’s second-highest-paid quarterback, behind Aaron Rodgers‘ $22 million per season. Wilson has since fallen to 12th in terms of annual average salary among quarterbacks, and it is believed he wants his next contract to hold up longer than his last one.
Rodgers is back atop the quarterback pay scale after signing an extension last year that averages $33.5 million.