The Denver Broncos seemingly came out of nowhere to acquire quarterback Russell Wilson in a trade with the Seattle Seahawks in March.
Fans and pundits were surprised by the trade because there had been no reporting indicating it was about to happen, and no reports that it was even being negotiated. That was intentional.
“The fact that this did not leak — we had a month of negotiations between [Seahawks GM] John [Schneider] and I and it didn’t leak,” Broncos general manager George Paton said at Wilson’s introductory press conference in the spring.
“It’s a credit to John and a credit to the Seahawks, the Broncos, and ‘Russ’ and his team. … We didn’t want it to get out. You never know. If it gets out, it could blow up the deal. I credit our organization and the leadership group that knew — the inner circle — that kept it in-house.”
Paton holds his cards close to his chest and there haven’t been as many leaks out of the team’s facility as there were before Paton was hired.
Now the Broncos have begun — or eventually will begin — negotiations with Wilson’s agent on a big contract extension. Not surprisingly, Paton doesn’t plan to let any of the negotiation details slip.
“We all want Russell here a long time,” Paton said when asked about Wilson’s contract negotiations during his pre-camp press conference on Tuesday. “I appreciate the question. Out of respect for his team and our team, we’re going to keep it in-house — any discussions we may or may not have. I have a really good relationship with Russ’ agent, Mark Rodgers, and at the right time, we’ll get a deal done.”
Judging from the current quarterback market, it wouldn’t be surprising if Rodgers seeks a contract in the range of $46-50 million per season for his client. All parties kept things quiet when the trade was being negotiated, so it’s probably safe to assume they’ll keep contract negotiations quiet as well.
Denver wants to sign Wilson to an extension, but fans might not hear much about negotiations until after the deal is signed. That’s the way the Broncos like to do business.
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