STEELERS
Is Russell Wilson still getting paid by the Broncos? How much do Denver and the Steelers pay him this season?
The Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback is one of the league’s lowest-paid QBs. Between them and his former team, the Denver Broncos, here’s what he’s earning.
Quarterback Russell Wilson has begun the quest to resurge his NFL career with the Pittsburgh Steelers after a few awful years with the Denver Broncos. Although the season didn‘t get off to the start he would’ve liked, as he missed the first six weeks with a calf injury and Justin Fields looked set to steal the starting job - Wilson came back in Week 7 with a convincing performance, leading the Steelers to a 37-15 win over the New York Jets.
Tonight, he‘ll get another shot to prove he deserves to stay the QB1 this season as the Steelers host the New York Giants in Monday Night Football. Regardless of what happens, the Steelers got Wilson at a steal. In fact, he‘s one of the league’s lowest-paid quarterbacks this season.
Russell Wilson’s contract details
Russell Wilson signed a one-year, $1.21 million contract with the Steelers ahead of the 2024 season. His deal includes a full no-trade clause, giving him the power to veto any potential trades. Among starting quarterbacks, Wilson is the second-lowest-paid quarterback ahead of just San Francisco 49ers' Brock Purdy.
However, Wilson isn’t just earning money from the Steelers. Before signing the one-year deal with Pittsburgh, he had signed a five-year, $242.5 million contract with the Broncos in 2022. That contract came with $124 million in guarantees. Before releasing him in 2024, the Broncos had already paid Wilson $85 million of those guarantees, leaving $39 million still to be paid.
So, this season, Wilson is actually earning the rest of that $39 million, $1.21 million of which the Steelers are paying for, and the remaining $37.79 million for which the Broncos are responsible.
After this season, neither the Broncos nor the Steelers will owe Wilson anything, unless of course Pittsburgh signs him to an extension. The Broncos will, however, still have $32 million in dead cap charges for the next season. This season, they had a dead-cap hit of $53 million, giving Wilson the largest dead-cap value in NFL history - $85 million.