Did you hear that? It was the sound of NFL teams around the league breathing a huge sigh of relief upon hearing the latest news from NFL.com's Ian Rapoport regarding the contract extension talks between the Seattle Seahawks and Russell Wilson. In late February, there was talk that the 26-year-old quarterback would ink a new fully guaranteed deal with the Seahawks, which means he would receive every single dollar on the contract. According to Rapoport, Wilson and the 'Hawks are expected to reach an agreement before the start of training camp, but it will "include high, but not full, guarantees."
If both sides were to come to terms on a fully guaranteed deal, it would forever change the landscape of the league. In 2015, players like Cam Newton, Jason Pierre-Paul and Julio Jones are looking to sign new, long-term contracts and probably would've wanted to follow in Wilson's footsteps by pursuing a fully guaranteed contract.
Newton, Pierre-Paul and Jones have all missed significant time during their short careers, which could scare away some organizations from investing big money and losing in a big way if they landed on the injured reserve. However, given their track record, these three guys know that when they are on the field, they can put up ridiculous numbers in their respective fields, therefore, warranting the luxury of a fully guaranteed contract. It would be a negotiations disaster, but for now, it appears that every team has dodged a major bullet. Now, they can go ahead and breathe one more huge sigh of relief.
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[via NFL.com]
