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Aaron Rodgers’ historic NFL contract may set up Russell Wilson to become highest paid in history

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6 years ago

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Aaron Rodgers just became the highest paid player in NFL history. His new contract extension is good for $134-million over 4 years (and could balloon to 180-million with incentives).

So, why is a site dedicated to NC State, reporting on the Rodgers deal? Well, because NC State is #QBU and this contract just set the market-bar astronomically high. This is a new precedent for the QBs, let alone the NFL.

As for the four former NC State QBs in the league, the next one up for a new contract is Russell Wilson. Just yesterday, CBS talked to how Rodger’s deal will affect Wilson’s negotiating stance.

Wilson will have significantly more leverage next offseason during his contract year than in 2015, when he was entering the final year of his rookie deal. At the time, Wilson had made just under $2.2 million from his playing contract. This dynamic was going to make it extremely difficult for Wilson to reject an offer with a fairly player-friendly structure putting him near the top of the NFL pay scale. The Seahawks made him the league’s second-highest paid player at $21.9 million per year, although he hadn’t demonstrated that he could carry the offense for extended periods of time, which isn’t an issue anymore.

Wilson will have made just over an additional $72 million on the field since that time when this season ends. This financial security will allow Wilson to play hardball in any negotiations for an extension.

There is a chance that the Seahawks to hit Wilson with the franchise tag, but because of Rodgers deal, the salary base for an exclusive franchise tag isn’t cheap. Wilson may be ok with accepting that.

Wilson embracing the franchise tag, like Cousins did, could be appealing because of the high salaries. He would stand to make almost $68 million over the two years before becoming an unrestricted free agent in 2022, when he is 33, a year younger than Rodgers is now. Since good, healthy quarterbacks who should still have several highly-productive years still ahead of them almost never hit the open market, Wilson could be a position for a mind-boggling contract by going this route (CBS).

The other option for the Seahawks would be to offer a long-term contract extension soon. They may not want to get into the year-by-year contract situation where it could end up way more expensive for them to keep Wilson around in the long run.

This gives Wilson massive leverage. If he declines the long-term deal (that Seattle may offer at market rate) and forces the Seahawks to go year by year, he’d be betting on himself staying healthy. At the same time, he’d be putting tons of pressure on the Seahawks to give him a long-term deal that he can’t refuse.

Sure, Seattle may end up having to give Wilson a contract larger than Aaron Rodgers, but even then, it would save them money in the long-term if they are dead-set on keeping him around.

It’s a bit complicated, and there will be a lot of bluffing going on, but this Rodgers deal seems to set Russell Wilson up to become a very, very rich man.

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Pack in the Pros

Former NC State All-American SS Trea Turner Named NL Player of the Week

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2 days ago

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April 24, 2024

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Former NC State All-American Shortstop Trea Turner was named the National League Player of the Week last week.

  • The 30-year-old hit .462 (12-for-26) with a home run, four RBI, five doubles, a walk, 10 runs scored, a stolen base and a .481 on-base percentage in six games last week.
  • The Florida native led the Majors in runs scored; tied for the NL lead in doubles and extra-base hits (6); ranked third in slugging (.769), OPS (1.250) and hits (12); and ranked fourth in total bases (20).
  • The two-time All-Star recorded four straight multi-hit games from Tuesday through Saturday, putting together three-hit games on Wednesday against Colorado and Thursday against Chicago (AL). It was the third time in his Phillies’ tenure and eighth time in his career that he had at least four-straight multi-hit games.
  • The 2019 World Series Champion has hits in 10 straight games since April 11th, batting .429 (18-for-42) with two homers, six RBI, six doubles, two walks, 12 runs scored, a stolen base and a 1.169 OPS during the stretch. He has reached in each of his last 13 games since April 8th, batting .434/.483/.660 over the stretch.
  • The North Carolina State product stole home on Sunday against the White Sox, marking his 40th consecutive stolen base since September 6, 2022 when he was a member of the Dodgers. His current streak surpassed Jimmy Rollins for the fourth-longest all-time and is now tied with Hall of Famer Tim Raines for the third-longest streak in Major League history. Next on the list is Ichiro Suzuki, who swiped 45 straight bases from April 29, 2006 through May 16, 2007, and Vince Coleman, who stole a Major League record 50 straight bases from September 18, 1988 through July 26, 1989. (MLB)

Turner was a 2-time All-American at NC State. In 2012, Turner was named 3rd Team All-American by NCBWA, and in 2013 he was named 2nd Team by Collegiate Baseball, and 3rd Team by NCBWA and Baseball America.

Turner’s 113 career stolen bases at NC State are the most in school history.

Turner was drafted by the San Diego Padres in the 1st Round with the 13th overall pick in the 2014 MLB Draft.

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NC State’s Payton Wilson & Dylan McMahon’s 2024 Draft Projections

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3 days ago

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April 24, 2024

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The 2024 NFL Draft is 1 day away. Where does NC State Linebacker Payton Wilson and Center Dylan McMahon project to be drafted?

PFF

Payton Wilson – 1st Round – 29th Overall Pick – Indianapolis Colts

It’s a cliché to go “best athlete available” for the Colts, but Payton Wilson certainly ticked that box at the NFL scouting combine. Wilson was exceptional in his final season at NC State, earning grades above 75.0 in all three facets of defense, led by his 90.0 coverage grade with three interceptions and four forced incompletions.

Dylan McMahon – 6th Round – 214th Overall Pick – Cincinnati Bengals

Sporting News

Payton Wilson – 2nd Round – 38th Overall Pick – Tennessee Titans

Dylan McMahon – 5th Round – 175th Overall Pick – New Orleans Saints

Walter Football

Payton Wilson – 2nd Round – 42nd Overall Pick – Houston Texans

CBS Sports

Payton Wilson – 2nd Round – 43rd Overall Pick – Atlanta Falcons

Dylan McMahon – 6th Round – 182nd Overall Pick – Tennessee Titans

The Athletic 

Payton Wilson – 2nd Round – 56th Overall Pick – Dallas Cowboys

Dylan McMahon – 7th Round – 232nd Overall Pick – Minnesota Vikings

Fantasy Pros

Payton Wilson – 3rd Round – 66th Overall Pick – Arizona Cardinals

Dylan McMahon – 7th Round – 55th Overall Pick – Green Bay Packers

NFL.com

Payton Wilson – 3rd Round – 80th Overall Pick – Cincinnati Bengals

Dylan McMahon – 4th Round – 112th Overall Pick – Carolina Panthers

ESPN

Payton Wilson – 3rd Round – 81st Overall Pick – Seattle Seahawks

Wilson has an early-round grade based strictly on his game tape, but durability concerns could drop him to this range — or even later. He had 130 tackles, six sacks and three interceptions last season.

Dylan McMahon – 7th Round – 247th Overall Pick – Houston Texans

Pro Football Network

Payton Wilson – 3rd Round – 83rd Overall Pick – Los Angeles Rams

Dylan McMahon – 6th Round – 205th Overall Pick – Detroit Lions

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Former NC State G Terquavion Smith Earns a Spot on the 2023-23 NBA G-League All-Rookie Team

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1 week ago

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April 19, 2024

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Former NC State Guard Terquavion Smith earned a spot on the 2023-24 NBA G-League All-Rookie Team.

Smith averaged 22.3 points, 3.4 assists and 3 rebounds per game for the Delaware Blue Coats. What’s crazy, is that he only started in 3 of the 36 games he played in. With that being said, he averaged 30.7 minutes per game. Smith shot 35.6% from three.

As a 2-way player, Smith also played 16 games for the Philadelphia 76ers, averaging 3.3 points in 5.3 minutes per game. He shot 37.1% from three.

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NC State LB Payton Wilson Visited with the Steelers Yesterday

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1 week ago

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April 17, 2024

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Former NC State Linebacker Payton Wilson had a Top-30 visit with the Pittsburgh Steelers yesterday. Wilson is the first Linebacker the Steelers have brought in.

Wilson has already had Top-30 visits with the Dallas Cowboys and the Carolina Panthers.

PFF ranks Wilson as the #1 Linebacker in the 2024 Draft, and #26 on their Big Board.

1. LB PAYTON WILSON, NC STATE

PFF BIG BOARD RANK: 26

Wilson has the length, movement ability, IQ and tape of a first-round linebacker. What will likely keep him from being drafted on Day 1 is his injury history and age. If healthy, he can be a starting inside linebacker in any defense. (PFF)

Will someone take Wilson in the 1st round? Will he be a 2nd round pick? If he slips past that, that’s just stupid.

 

 

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