NFL teams
Terry Blount, ESPN Staff Writer 9y

Russell Wilson mentions $25M figure when talking about contract

NFL, Seattle Seahawks

Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson said Monday he is preparing to give everything he has to his job this season, regardless of how much money he makes in 2015.

Wilson sat down with ESPN reporter Marty Smith on Monday, who asked Wilson, "What do you deserve?"

''I don't know,'' Wilson said. "How much would you pay me, Marty?

"Ultimately, it comes down to the play. I let my play speak for itself and let the rest take care of itself. I continue to love the game for what it is and continue to fight and continue to play no matter how much I'm getting paid, no matter if it's $25 million or if it's $1.5 million. I'll be ready to go."

Wilson is scheduled to make $1.54 million this season, the fourth and final year of his rookie contract. He signed the $2.99 million deal as a third-round draft choice in 2012.

He is believed to be seeking a multiyear deal that could make him the highest-paid player the game -- a five-year contract worth more than $110 million, with at least $50 million fully guaranteed.

The long-running negotiations have caused endless speculation, tough talk at times, and forced some people to take sides. So Smith asked Wilson about his relationship with the Seahawks.

''It's great," Wilson said. "I don't think it's a bad relationship by any means. I had the opportunity to win the first Super Bowl in franchise history. Obviously, I want to stay in Seattle. I love Seattle. It's a great place, a place I arrived on May 10th, 2012. I'll never forget that day.

"I trust the process of it all. I'm going to do everything I can to put the work in and let the rest speak for itself. When it's all done and my career's over, hopefully, 17 years from now, I can look back and, hopefully, it's a job well done That's all I can do and all I can ask for, to give it my all every day. It'll work out if I do that."

Smith asked Wilson what he would say to the doubters who say he isn't a "franchise quarterback" based on the numbers.

"I don't know what numbers they're looking at," Wilson said.

"There's only one that matters. It comes down to wins. Wins and being clutch. I believe every time I have the opportunity, I'm going to find a way to win. There's a few times I haven't. But there's a few times I have."

Besides leading the Seahawks to back-to-back Super Bowls, Wilson's 15 fourth-quarter/overtime comebacks are the most in the NFL since he entered the league in 2012. His 36 regular-season victories are the most for any quarterback in his first three NFL seasons.

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