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BY Art Thiel 10:52PM 08/01/2015

Wagner gets new Seahawks deal too: $43M

Bobby Wagner, who said Friday his deadline for a contract extension was “now,” got his wish when the Seahawks gave him a four-year deal for the most money for a linebacker.

LB Bobby Wagner punches the ball free against St. Louis. / Drew Sellers, Sportspress Northwest

When coach Pete Carroll said after QB Russell Wilson signed his new deal that the Seahawks were working hard on getting done a deal for MLB Bobby Wagner, he wasn’t kidding. Reports Saturday night said Wagner has agreed to a $43 million extension over four years, a record for an NFL linebacker.

Wagner and Wilson were part of the same 2012 draft class, Wagner in the second round, Wilson in the third, that put them on the same NFL calendar: Three years into a four-year rookie contract and eligible for an extension.

But because Wilson’s deal was so large, $87.6 million, Wagner’s deal took a back burner, to the point where he tweeted out, “can’t keep everyone” after news broke Friday about the Wilson deal.

After Friday’s first day of practice, Wagner was asked if he had a deadline: “Now,” he said.

The Seahawks were close. Former Seahawks FB Michael Robinson, now an analyst with NFL Network, broke the news in a tweet:

 

 

The deal keeps Wagner, 25, a Los Angeles native who attended Utah State, with the Seahawks through 2019 and contains guarantees of $22 million. Getting both deals done represents a major off-season accomplishment for the Seahawks.

“If it happens, it happens,” Wagner said Friday about a deal. “But all I know is at the end of the season, y’all will know that I’m the best linebacker in this league. That’s my focus. Everything else will take care of itself.”

Wagner indeed was coming off his first Pro Bowl selection and was second-team All-Pro behind Carolina’s Luke Kuechly, despite missing five games with a foot injury. Kuechly reportedly has had his club option picked up next season for $11.1 million,  so he still tops the salary charts at linebacker, but Wagner’s four-year deal is tops for the position.

The Wagner deal makes him the sixth Seahawk to make $10 million-plus annually: Wilson $21.9, CB Richard Sherman $14, RB Marshawn Lynch $12, and FS Earl Thomas and TE Jimmy Graham at $10 million each.

 

 


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YourThoughts

  • jafabian

    Hope the players realize when they start demanding and then receive a big payout that Paul Allen has expectations. And I’m sure he’s learned from when he rewarded Shaun Alexander and others from the Holmgren era. Anything short of a Super Bowl will not be tolerated. And of all people, Tom Brady has set the precedent. Be prepared to accept a reduction in salary if those expectations aren’t met.

    • John M

      True, and that’s how players end up getting traded and bounce around for a few years, never achieving what they did with their original team and then are gone. As much as I wanted this contract with Bobby, they have set a precedent that can and probably will be used against them down the road. I just hope Bobby doesn’t end a a cap casualty in two years . . .

  • alinajon91
  • Its onlySports(DavidWakefield)

    When Wagner returned from injury last season and Carroll was quoted as telling him wow!We didnt realize how important you are to the overall health of our defense…I knew that they were going to keep Bobbie at all costs. I think we should take him seriously. He wants to be the best and in fact he is adamant that he will be known as the best. That is what you want out of your 10million dollar guy.

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