NFL Chaos: Inside the Explosive Rift between Russell Wilson and the Denver Broncos! What Went Down Will Shock You!
The potential separation between the Denver Broncos and quarterback Russell Wilson appears to be growing more complicated than it currently appears.
Following Russell Wilson’s benching in favor of Jarrett Stidham last week, the 35-year-old quarterback publicly disclosed the team’s demand made weeks ago during the bye week. This demand involved threatening to bench him if he didn’t waive his $37 million injury guarantee for the 2025 season, which gets locked in this coming March.
This action raised concerns within the NFL Players Association (NFLPA), leading them to send a letter to the Broncos in November, asserting that the threat to Wilson violated the collective bargaining agreement, potentially leading to legal repercussions for the team.
Despite head coach Sean Payton’s insistence that Wilson’s benching was solely performance-based and unrelated to his contract, this narrative isn’t widely accepted throughout the league.
As a result, Payton and the Broncos’ front office are likely to spend the early part of the offseason attempting to repair their tarnished reputations after Wilson revealed the sequence of events.
This is the most honest and raw side of Russell Wilson that I’ve seen. pic.twitter.com/NrwpNcdR9A— Rachel Vigil (@heyrachelvigil) December 29, 2023
Traditionally, a quarterback might have remained silent and sought a transfer to another team in such a scenario. However, mistreating a player of Wilson’s caliber changes that dynamic. An unnamed executive quoted in The Athletic suggested that Wilson’s public explanation signals a notable shift in player reactions to such treatment.
Although there’s no official announcement yet, the expectation is that the Broncos will release Wilson in March before his injury guarantee becomes active. Should they release him with a post-June 1 designation, Wilson would incur a $35.4 million dead cap charge, as per Over the Cap.
Moreover, Denver is projected to exceed the salary cap by $18.1 million in 2024. Wilson’s release would compound the $9.69 million already accrued in dead cap from cutting other players, such as Randy Gregory, Brandon McManus, Frank Clark, and Montrell Washington, resulting in a total dead cap of $45.1 million for the team.