Allgemein » It’s been just over a week since the Seattle Seahawks

signed middle linebacker Bobby Wagner to a contract extension that makes him the highest paid off ball linebacker in the NFL. As I have..." The OffseasonCap ClassroomHow much exactly will Bobby Wagner and Russell Wilson cost the Seahawks?New C. J. Prosise Color Rush Jersey ,8commentsPDTShare this storyShare this on FacebookShare this on TwitterShareAll sharing optionsShareAll sharing options for:How much exactly will Bobby Wagner and Russell Wilson cost the Seahawks?TwitterFacebookRedditPocketFlipboardEmailBobby Wagner and Russell Wilson arguing over who gets paid firstPhoto by Otto Greule Jr/Getty ImagesIt’s been just over a week since the Seattle Seahawks signed middle linebacker Bobby Wagner to a contract extension that makes him the highest paid off ball linebacker in the NFL. As I have previously noted, Wagner takes back the title of highest paid off ball linebacker for the first time since 2015 in eclipsing the contract that the New York Jets had given to C.J. Mosley. The size of the extension, combined with the fact that the Seahawks made Russell Wilson the highest paid player in the NFL back in April, has some fans concerned about the Hawks’ ability to field a competitive team going forward because of the size of the commitments to these two players. However, let’s take a look at the validity of this concern by first looking at how much Wilson and Wagner will cost the team going forward. Bobby Wagner and Russell Wilson cost versus estimated salary cap going forwardCap YearRussell WilsonBobby WagnerCombinedLeftover CapCap YearRussell WilsonBobby WagnerCombinedLeftover CapThe last column in the table is an estimate of the cap. Obviously, we know the cap for 2019 is set to be $188.2M, and the cap for 2020 is likely to be somewhere in the area of $200M. Without a CBA in place to divide league revenues for 2021 and beyond, the projected cap numbers for 2021 and 2022 are simply numbers I’ve made up based on a continuation of cap growth in the six percent range that has been seen in recent seasons. Maybe it’s right, or maybe it’s wrong, but in any case, those are the numbers I’m using. Now, the remaining amount of cap space for future seasons may not seem like a ton to attempt to fit in 51 players, injured reserve, the practice squad and dead money, but there is one key thing to keep in mind, and that is the rookie wage scale. The rookie wage scale acts to suppress salary costs for roughly two thirds of the roster for any NFL team. If the Seahawks were to break camp by cutting only the least expensive players on the roster, they’d have 25 players on the 53 man roster with a cap hit of less than $1M, and there would be 33 players with a cap hit of less than $2M. In short Tre Madden Color Rush Jersey , largely because of the way the rookie wage scale keeps salaries artificially low during the first four years of a player’s career, the bottom 35 players on an NFL roster will typically have cap hits that combine for less than $40M. So, between Wilson and Wagner’s large cap hits and the 35 players with lower cap hits, the Hawks are really only looking at needing to fill roughly 16 roster spots with more than $100M in cap space to do so. That is more than enough to address the needs of the team and fill in holes in the roster that pop up. Now, the equation could change slightly if a new CBA sees massive increases in minimum salaries. Minimum salaries have traditionally increased by 15-20% when a new CBA has gone into place, and if that is again the case, it shouldn’t be too much of an issue. Such an increase would see lower level players making an additional $100k to $200k depending on how much experience they have, which would mean an additional $3M to $5M of cap space is all that would really be required to cover these costs. With the Seahawks currently looking at comfortably north of $50M in available cap space in 2020 and beyond, absorbing that additional cost would not be difficult. However, if for some reason the NFLPA decides to go hard after huge salary increases, it could prove an issue. Seeing minimum salaries increase by fifty percent or more, along with a corresponding adjustment in signing bonuses for the rookie wage scale could see teams needing $20M to $30M to cover the additional costs of the lower salary players, if not more. While the Seahawks front office has positioned the team to be able to withstand that kind of increase, many other teams have not. In addition, if the players decide to shift some of their revenue allocation from current salary to future benefits, such as increased future pension and health insurance benefits, that could see a repeat of the stagnating cap the league experienced from 2009 through 2013. Even if that comes to pass, however Kam Chancellor Color Rush Jersey , the Seahawks have built in the roster and salary cap flexibility they need to withstand it. However, there are plenty of teams that have constructed their roster based on an ever increasing cap or have borrowed from future cap years by converting base salary to signing bonus in order to kick the can down the road. In any case, the point is that the Seahawks should be fine going forward, even with Wagner and Wilson on the books for huge money, and even if the salary cap growth stalls out all of a sudden. What a terrible terrible loss.This should’ve been the day for the Seattle Seahawks (8-6) to clinch a playoff spot by beating the San Francisco 49ers (4-10). Instead they committed a ton of penalties, played sloppy football, went overly conservative, and deservedly lost 26-23 despite two touchdowns by Doug Baldwin and a 100+ yard performance by Chris Carson.Special Teams was a huge liability with a missed PAT by Sebastian Janikowski, a kick return for a touchdown, multiple penalties on returns, a muffed kick by Tyler Lockett, it was all a disaster.1st HalfThe 49ers received the ball and went three-and-out, although the Seahawks dodged a bullet when Nick Mullens overthrew an open George Kittle on 3rd and 2. Seattle started off with great field position and took advantage right away, as a great Tyler Lockett double move on 3rd down led to a 28-yard gain to San Francisco’s 25. Chris Carson converted on a 3rd and 1 on a toss play to the 49ers’ 6. On 3rd and goal at the 5, Russell Wilson found Doug Baldwin on the fade for the score. 6-0 Seahawks after the missed PAT.The joy was short-lived, as Richie James Jr took the ensuing kick back for a touchdown. 97 yards with not much trouble. 7-6 49ers.A punt from the 49ers 40 on 4th and short pinned them at the 1. A fumbled snap in the end zone was negated by a Jarran Reed offsides penalty. The Niners had success moving the ball down the field, but a big run by Jeff Wilson Jr ended in a fumble forced by Bradley McDougald and recovered by Tre Flowers at the Seattle 28.Seattle gave up a 98-yard touchdown drive with ease, as Nick Mullens beat blitzes and found gaping holes in the secondary Shaquem Griffin Color Rush Jersey , including a 41-yard strike to Garrett Celek as Tedric Thompson slipped. 14-6 49ers.The Seahawks offense struck back courtesy of a 24-yard run by Chris Carson on a toss play, followed shortly by a ridiculous Russell Wilson scramble play to Doug Baldwin for a 35-yard score. 14-13 49ers.Nick Mullens again sliced apart a poor Seahawks defense, but Tre Flowers made a great 3rd down pass break-up in the red-zone to hold the 49ers to a field goal, which would be the halftime score. 17-13 49ers.2nd HalfThe two teams alternated punts to start the 2nd half, but then the Seahawks defense and special teams gifted the 49ers literally 45 yards of penalties on the way to the red zone. An unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on Jeff Wilson Jr basically killed a potential TD drive and forced them into a field goal. 20-13 49ers. Seattle’s offense finally got into gear again through the run game, as Chris Carson hit a couple of big chunk plays. They got all the way down to the 49ers’ 1 but couldn’t punch it in on three downs. On 4th and goal, Chris Carson was stuffed... until he wasn’t. He kept his legs churning and got some help from Duane Brown to break the plane to tie the game in the 4th quarter. 20-20.Nick Mullens wasted no time finding Dante Pettis deep for a huge gain on Shaquill Griffin. A debatable DPI on Delano Hill then got them out of a 1st and 20 jam. Luckily the Seahawks defense held firm after that and forced Robbie Gould to come onto the field, but he converted his 45-yard field goal. 23-20 49ers.A generous roughing the passer penalty gave the Seahawks free 15 yards on the first play of the potential go-ahead drive. On 3rd down, Doug Baldwin got a free release and Wilson found him for 27 yards deep into 49ers territory. Unfortunately a crucial holding on JR Sweezy negated a Mike Davis first-down run, and Wilson was sacked on 3rd down but still in FG range. Seabass from 48... GOOD. 23-23 with 5:21 left. The Seahawks pass rush showed up in a big way on the next possession, getting a sack and two pressures on Mullens to force a three-and-out. Germain Ifedi committed a bad holding penalty on a 3rd down conversion by Mike Davis, which led to the Seahawks punting right back. Jarran Reed had a big sack after the Niners converted a first-down.After a Trent Taylor drop, Reed came through with another sack to force the punt. Unfortunately, Malik Turner had a penalty on the punt return that cost them some field position with 1:38 to go at their own 27.First play was a short dumpoff to Mike Davis. Another Davis checkdown got them to their own 43 with 1:02 to go. A big Davis run led to another holding penalty. The 2nd and 15 pass was incomplete. The deep ball to David Moore was incomplete, so overtime it is. OvertimeTyler Lockett inexcusably took the kickoff out of the end zone, fumbling it and then picking it up before getting wrecked at his own 15. JD McKissic got a big catch on 3rd down towards midfield... but a holding negated it. Ethan Pocic again. That meant a punt and the 49ers getting the ball at their own 39.After a massive hit by Poona Ford, Shaquill Griffin was flagged for DPI. A couple of runs by Jeff Wilson put them into FG range inside the 20. They brought on Robbie Gould for the game-winning field goal from 36 yards out...good. 26-23 49ers.Seahawks injury reportRB Mike Davis limped off the field at the end of the 1st half but returned to the game in the 3rd quarter.S Bradley McDougald suffered a knee injury in the 1st half and did not return.G Jordan Simmons went down in the 3rd quarter with a knee injury and was replaced by Ethan Pocic.RB Chris Carson took a hard hit from Richard Sherman in the 4th quarter. His injury was not disclosed but he did return. Next week’s opponentThe Seahawks play on Sunday Night Football on December 23rd against the Kansas City Chiefs (11-3) at 5:20 PM PT on NBC.