Russell Wilson benched to ensure the Denver Broncos don’t have to pay him an additional $37 million in the event he gets hurt during Week 17 matchup vs Chargers

The Denver Broncos are benching Russell Wilson this weekend for their game against the Los Angeles Chargers. 

According to Adam Schefter, Broncos head coach Sean Payton informed the team this morning that backup quarterback Jarrett Stidham will start Sunday vs. the Chargers, with Russell Wilson as the backup. 

Schefty also stated that the change was due to the Broncos being 1-3 over the last four games and they hope the change under center will spark the offense over the final two weeks of the regular season. 

Russell Wilson Last 4 Games: 1,014 YDS, 9 TD, 2 INT

Broncos Country, Let’s Ride! Kidding. That’s actually complete bullshit. 

So why bench Russell Wilson? Well, the answer is pretty obvious.

The move will save the Denver Broncos organization around $37 million. Next season marks the first year of a five-year, $242.6 million extension signed in 2022 by Wilson, who already will make $39 million guaranteed in 2024.

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Wilson will make an additional $37 million in guaranteed money if he can’t pass a physical by early March. An injury to Wilson in either of Denver’s last two games of the season could trigger that guarantee.

Russell Wilson already has $39 million guaranteed for 2024, but he has an additional $37M that would become guaranteed if he can’t pass a physical by early March.

Denver’s move to sit him assures that money won’t trigger. And Denver does this at a time when Wilson is the NFL’s…

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) December 27, 2023

The fact that Denver is basically robbing Russell Wilson of an additional $37 million seems like a pretty wild move but I get it. If Wilson gets hurt, that’s a $37 million medical bill that the Broncos need to pay. At the same time, it feels like the Broncos are basically robbing Wilson of the opportunity to make money based on the contract they both agreed upon. 

This move was clearly not based on performance, but almost a franchise insurance policy on their quarterback. As Schefty mentioned, Wilson is currently the seventh-rated passer in the entire NFL with 26 touchdowns and 8 interceptions. 

Regardless, Russell Wilson is actually the fourth quarterback that was benched for the exact same reason. 

• The Raiders benched Derek Carr
• The Colts benched Matt Ryan 
• The Raiders benched Jimmy Garoppolo

According to reports, in all four instances the player mentioned had an injury guarantee that would become fully-guaranteed if he can’t pass a physical in the offseason.

The move to bench the quarterback is to ensure that the guaranteed money doesn’t trigger. 

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