National Football League

Russell Wilson's agent uses MLB tactic for negotiations

Published Jun. 8, 2015 4:53 p.m. ET

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By Vincent Frank

Russell Wilson’s agent, Mark Rodgers, is an experienced contract negotiator. He’s helped his clients receive lucrative payouts on a grand scale in the past. Interestingly, most of those clients up until Wilson himself played baseball.

Rodgers, a pretty big agent in the Major League Baseball world, was brought on by the Super Bowl-winning quarterback to negotiate an extension with the Seattle Seahawks—a negotiation process that now appears to be taking on a whole new meaning.

According to multiple media reports, including this one by Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio, Rodgers sent out a 16-page position paper to the brass in Seattle detailing his client’s stance on negotiations that seem to be at a standstill. Position papers of this ilk are usually solely reserved for the world of baseball.

It’s an interesting move from Wilson’s camp, especially on the heels of the record extension Cam Newton signed with the Carolina Panthers last week. It also comes at a time when it appears that Wilson himself is growing increasingly frustrated with the pace of extension negotiations.

Based on the $67.6 million Newton is slated to receive during the first three years of his deal, it’s highly likely that Wilson will demand a guarantee in excess of $100 million. That fits nicely with previous reports indicating that the young signal caller wants to be among the highest-paid players in the history of the league.

Complicating things further here is the fact that star linebacker Bobby Wagner is also looking at a pretty big contract himself. A part of Wilson’s 2012 draft class, Wagner is also slated to become a free agent following this upcoming season. Much like Wilson, he doesn’t seem to be willing to take a “hometown discount.”

Now that Seattle is apparently turning some of its attention to re-signing Wagner, the Wilson negotiations seem to be up in the air. And in reality, time is running out. If neither of these players are extended prior to next March, one will assuredly hit the open market. That makes the next couple months pretty important for the two-time defending NFC champions.

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