A little trouble in paradise (Seattle)? RW contract talks

[ecu88]

There shouldn't be any Qb in the league making more than Brady. He has 4 Super Bowl rings and 21 playoff wins. That's the standard other QB contracts should be judged against.

Not to deflate what was written here, but, would the contracts include ball air pressure preference?

[Moorgan]

Are you serious? So you wouldn't mind Cam getting ridiculously paid at the expense of our team when he hasn't even made the NFC championship game yet or hasn't even had 2 winning seasons yet?

He is a franchise QB. There aren't many of those. There have been a lot of reasons why the Panthers haven't made it far in the playoffs. The organization is not the media or fans. They realize wins and losses are not laid solely at the feet of a QB.

I've never been a part of contract negotiations. So I don't really know the intricacies. But I know franchise QBs get paid ridiculous money. I'd be surprised if they make him the richest man in football but I wouldn't be surprised if he gets around 20+M a yr.

It seems that's the nature of the beast in today's NFL and I certainly won't stress over it. So yes...I'm ok with Cam being paid ridiculous money and I think our FO has positioned the salary cap to do exactly that. I don't believe Cam or Luke are going anywhere. And the team will be better for it.

[MadHatter]

No sweat we'll have an estimated $70 mil next year in cap space.

But the more we have for other positions the better. It is on NO WAY a good thing for us or any team in the nfl.

[JawnyBlaze]

The whole "QBs are solely responsible for a football team's success" is probably the greatest myth in sports history.

[cbarrier90]

The whole "QBs are solely responsible for a football team's success" is probably the greatest myth in sports history.

It's the fear of the uncertainty if you let the QB walk.

Sure, Wilson MIGHT easily be replicated, but if they can't find him, they'll end up with a dominant defense and terrible offense that results in the 7-9 purgatory of the Rams (or pretty much every Panthers team from 2006-2011.)

The Seahawks were one RW draft pick away from starting Matt Flynn. Who knows what they or the NFL landscape in general looks like if RW never shows up?

[Panthers8969]

Lol a first round comp pick. Someone's enjoying the legalization of weed

[mbarbour21]

It's the fear of the uncertainty if you let the QB walk.

Sure, Wilson MIGHT easily be replicated, but if they can't find him, they'll end up with a dominant defense and terrible offense that results in the 7-9 purgatory of the Rams (or pretty much every Panthers team from 2006-2011.)

The Seahawks were one RW draft pick away from starting Matt Flynn. Who knows what they or the NFL landscape in general looks like if RW never shows up?

True. Russel Wilson deserves to get paid well. We have to be honest with ourselves, he is a big part of what they do. However, I don't believe he should get the contract he wants. What do you do besides pay him though? Drop him? The truth is, if you pay Wilson what he wants that probably means you will lose a part of that defense. (Particularly a DB) That defense is just as big of a part of that team as Wilson, if not more. At the end of the day, Wilson will just be harder to replace. I don't think that makes him a more important piece of the team, just a rare one.

[FuFuLamePoo]

In no way is this good news for us bc Cam is gonna want every penny that RW gets and more. Which, he should. I'm sure he believes he is better than Wilson, which I think he is too.

I just wish players weren't so greedy this days. Why can't one guy say, "You know what? I care more about winning. I'll take a lesser deal so we have more money to improve the rest of the team and give us the best chance winning possible."

[TheRed]

No need to get all defensive like usual.  I am a big Cam supporter since the day I wanted him here.  Have his jersey and wear it to most games. I think he is going to have a great year and perhaps justify the money he wants given he has some good weapons around him.  This year will go a long way to determining what he gets paid.  He knows it and the Panthers know it.  If he takes us far into the playoffs he can use that in the negotiations. If he doesnt, then he really has little to say if comparing himself to Wilson in terms of results.  It wont matter whose team was better just who has had more success.  After all how much success did Seattle have before Wilson? The two year before he gets there they go 7-9 both years.  Since he came there- 11-5, 13-3, and 12-4. Cam cant come close to that. Those are just the facts. In negotiations excuses dont go very far just results.  Doesnt matter if the excuses are legit or not, they still are excuses. Lets be honest for a moment, Cam was not ready for the NFL when he was drafted, Wilson was.  Cam is catching up and with his athletic ability can pass him.  But to this point it is still Wilson with better results.  

 

Newton came into the NFL with 1 year at Auburn, and a limited first offseason due to the lockout, and still went on to become the rookie of the year. Your "Cam was not ready for the NFL" logic has holes in it bud. If you want to frame it any possible way it would be that the Panthers football team wasn't ready. Specifically our defense in 2011. Whereas with Seattle, Wilson came into a very good team with a top defense. Pretty significantly different situation in that regard.

 

Also, I like how you once again conveniently leave out a few other notable facts in your argument. In 2010, before they had even drafted Wilson, Pete Carroll had the Seahawks in the playoffs at 7-9, and knocked off the Saints on their way to the divisional playoff game with an aging Matt Hasslebeck. Where were the Panthers the few years before Newton was drafted? Yeah, about that...

 

Oh, and one more thing, Pete Carroll already had quite a bit of head coaching experience, and wasn't learning on the fly like Rivera was in Newton's first year.

 

Regardless, make no mistake, both players are going to get paid big. No matter how much some people want to complain, it's going to happen.

[d-dave]

The whole "QBs are solely responsible for a football team's success" is probably the greatest myth in sports history.

 

I agree to a large degree that the proportion of success and failure is too often associated with the position.  BUT!  The QB touches the ball more often than any player other than the Center.  When you're down four points, who does the team turn to?  Who is going to be the one changing plays at the line?  While the defense should keep you within a field goal and shut everyone down in the 4th quarter, and should leave you plenty of time to run the ball and kick a field goal; the NFL doesn't work that way.

 

So I have no problem with Cam getting a bunch of money.  He's a playmaker.  The team is getting built up around him, we're navigating the salary cap with Cam and Luke's contracts in mind.  I do not think we're very competitive without Cam. 

 

As far as Wilson, he does have some serious leverage (though diminished for the Pick in the SB, he should have told them to run the dern ball regardless of the play sent in) given his success.  That being said, I think Seattle has every right to tell RW to cool his jets.  He has a great RB and an excellent defense.  Those two items set him up to make plays.  Folks will talk about his targets, but the thing is, they keep making those plays.  Maybe not consistently, but when the poo is on the line, Wilson's guys step up and make those catches.  So Wilson is an important part of the Seahawks for sure, but if he's going to ask for $30 million a year, guaranteed for 10 years, I'd tell him to come talk when his head has come out of his own backside!

[NJPanthers12]

I take Cam over Wilson 10 out of 10 times, but Cam will not and should not get paid more than Wilson. Wilson won a Super Bowl. That right there is going to get him the highest paid contract ever which will then be surpassed by Luck.

[Chimera]

"Luke Willson won a Super Bowl. He deserves more money than Greg Olsen."

 

"Jermaine Kearse won a Super Bowl. He deserves more money than Steve Smith."

 

"Brad Johnson won a Super Bowl. He deserves more money than Dan Marino."

[PanthersUnited]

I have a feeling RW is losing passion for the game. I know it sounds crazy but I am big on reading body language and getting "vibes" from people and RW just looked very disintrested last season in a lot of games. You can just tell something is off..

I think the issue is he has such great success very early in his career. SB champion followed up by another SB appearance, I just get the sense his ascension was just too fast and I think he has peaked because of it

[JawnyBlaze]

I take Cam over Wilson 10 out of 10 times, but Cam will not and should not get paid more than Wilson. Wilson won a Super Bowl. That right there is going to get him the highest paid contract ever which will then be surpassed by Luck.

Wilson didn't win a Super Bowl, the Seahawks did. This ain't tennis. But if you're going to say Wilson personally won a Super Bowl you also gotta say he personally lost one too. Sounds like it evens out.