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Soon, Seahawks will need Russell Wilson to do more to earn his huge payday

Tom Pelissero
USA TODAY Sports
Russell Wilson has led the way to 42 victories in his first three seasons.

RENTON, Wash. — Russell Wilson says he doesn’t think becoming one of the NFL’s highest-paid players changes his role with the Seattle Seahawks, and in the short term, that’s probably true.

For all of the Seahawks’ accomplishments during Wilson’s first three seasons, though, the team figures to get a much better idea about who he is as an NFL quarterback by 2019, when the four-year, $87.6 million extension Wilson signed Friday is set to expire.

His position notwithstanding, there’s a case to be made that Wilson isn’t among the five most important players on a team that has Richard Sherman, Earl Thomas, Kam Chancellor, Bobby Wagner and Marshawn Lynch. That almost surely will change if the Seahawks are to remain a contender three, four, five years from now.

As receiver Doug Baldwin put it after the team’s first practice of training camp Friday: “Russ is a leader on our offense. But you know as well as I do, everything runs through Marshawn.”

The identity of the offense is Lynch, who is 29 years old, ponders retirement on an annual basis and could walk away at any time. The difference-makers the Seahawks have on defense won’t stay at their peak forever. And Chancellor’s camp holdout with three years left on his deal could be a sign of financial stress to come. Sherman and Thomas, whose signing bonuses on extensions last year totaled $20.5 million combined, may be looking for upgrades as soon as next year. Wagner is in a contract year and said his timeline for getting paid is “now”

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Yes, the Seahawks are rewarding Wilson for his role in the team’s recent run: three straight playoff trips, two Super Bowl trips, one title. But they’re also paying in advance for what they’ll likely need from him to keep a good thing going.

“I am so proud and happy for Russell,” Wagner said. “He’s being paid as one of the highest, and he deserves it. He’s been to back-to-back Super Bowls. He’s gone out there and balled out every single game. You can’t be jealous about that.”

At some point, Wilson will need to do more. And the deal he got — including a $31 million signing bonus and about $61.5 million in total guarantees — strongly suggests the Seahawks’ brain trust seems believes he’ll be able to do it when the time comes.

If that faith weren’t there, the team could’ve played things year to year. Wilson had one year and $1.542 million remaining on the rookie deal he signed as a third-round pick out of Wisconsin in 2012. Two franchise tags would’ve run the tab to around $46 million over the next three years — some $10 million less than Wilson now stands to collect in the same span.

Then again, if he continued to ascend, Wilson’s leverage — and, in turn, his price tag — would’ve risen amidst the tag game. By locking him up now, the Seahawks remove that risk as well as the potential distractions and headaches that come with an uncertain future.

Perform well, and Wilson may well be back at the table in three years regardless. Contracts usually are three-year projections, the salary cap is growing and Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck likely will soon reset a market in which Aaron Rodgers’ $22 million-a-year deal with the Green Bay Packers has stood as the standard since 2013.

With Wilson’s deal, 20 of 32 NFL teams now have a quarterback as their highest-paid player. But how many have been blessed with the cast Wilson has around him? There’s no way for the Seahawks to be certain about what he could do with less, especially since they keep giving him more — just reference the blockbuster trade in March for matchup nightmare Jimmy Graham, the team's new tight end.

That shouldn’t take away from what Wilson is now. He knows how to control the offense, but he’s more than a game manager. He’s a superb competitor and a unique athlete who can extend plays and pressure a defense in unexpected ways, albeit more often than coaches might like. He has 72 touchdown passes to 26 interceptions and a 98.6 passer rating in 48 regular-season NFL starts.

Even on his worst days — remember those four interceptions in January’s NFC Championship Game before Seattle’s miracle rally past Rodgers and the Packers? — Wilson has found a way to make enough plays more often than not.

“Whatever anyone else thinks of him, we don’t care,” Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said. “He fits the way we play and the style of play. He complements the running game and the toughness and the difficulty and the explosive plays.”

Perhaps the Seahawks can keep the onus off Wilson longer than it appears.

Carroll, general manager John Schneider and the team’s personnel department have exhausted every avenue — the draft, trades, free agency, etc. — to build the most talented and complete roster in the NFL. And Wilson’s extension at least solidified the plan at the hardest position to fill.

“For three years, we’ve been pretty successful and found ways to play at a high, high level,” Wilson said. “So nothing changes. The mindset doesn’t change for me or any other guy on this football team.”

At least not yet.

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Follow Tom Pelissero on Twitter @TomPelissero.

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