Mike Freeman's 10-Point Stance: Seahawks Should Not Wait to Pay Russell Wilson

1. Pay the man. Pay him now.

No, Russell Wilson is not on the verge of a new, historic deal. Yes, he should be.

ESPN.com's Terry Blount reported Tuesday that the Seahawks and Wilson were close to a new contract. Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio had previously reported talks hadn't even started yet. I've been told the same by several sources, but I was also told that when talks do begin, things will move extremely quickly. Both sides want something long term done.

My belief is that Wilson will have a new contract by the time camp begins. I also think, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reported, it will make him the highest-paid quarterback in football. If not the highest, one of the top two or three.

If I'm the Seahawks, I get this done now. If these talks drag or if Wilson is franchised after next season, he's not the type of guy to sit out or cause the organization a headache. He's a good man. I think that is part of the problem. The Seahawks know Wilson is a good dude, a team-first type of guy. They're going to take advantage of that.

But what if Wilson stops being that good guy and gets mad at being paid the NFL equivalent of a pittance despite being one of its best talents?

The Seahawks have the leverage. They can wait. And wait. But that would be stupid. Why risk angering him? Just get it done.

Paying Wilson now also provides even more stability for an organization that does already admittedly have a great deal of it. Yet a locked-up Wilson would make this franchise the most stable in football. Only a team like the Packers would be close.

It's long been speculated the Seahawks will guarantee most, if not all, of Wilson's salary. Wilson would agree to a lower cap number and both sides would be happy.

Tom Gannam/Associated Press

The team took care of Marshawn Lynch, paying him $12 million for this coming season. They traded for Jimmy Graham, who will earn almost $30 million over the next three years. Wilson has to be saying, Um, fellas, over here? The quarterback? Helloooooo?

The Seahawks, through no fault of their own, have gotten away with paying Wilson less than a million per year. Wilson has been part of two Super Bowl teams in two years, and the Seahawks are 22-2 at home with him at quarterback. No, Wilson is not the lone reason, but he's obviously a huge part of it.

Wilson has 46 touchdowns and 16 interceptions the last two seasons. That's not bad.

One of the problems for the Seahawks is Wilson's low salary has helped the team pay other players, including Cliff Avril ($16 million in guaranteed money), Michael Bennett (the same), Richard Sherman ($40 million in guaranteed money) and Earl Thomas (almost $26 million in guaranteed cash). Now it's Wilson's turn to get paid.

I know what some of you will say. I know, I know. Wilson isn't that good. Go ahead. Think that. I'll maintain my position. Wilson is far more special than his critics want to say.

So pay him, Seahawks. Pay him now. Stop fooling around.

2. NFL wives write to commish

I missed this letter at first—it got little attention in the media—but I found it incredible. Over two dozen wives of Hall of Famers wrote to the union and NFL about their belief that pre-1993 players aren't getting the retirement benefits they deserve. It's a powerful letter.

This passage was key:

"

The pre-eminence of professional football in our American culture today dictates that its leaders must strive diligently to deliver a product worthy of such public adulation. While you attempt to deal with the growing violence in pro football, on and off of the field, please do not forget the hundreds of men who played their hearts out pre-1993 only to have been forgotten by those whose pockets they lined. The NFL, the owners and the NFLPA have the ability to right this particular wrong. It just might be easier than trying to stem the now increasing flow of public recognition of the arrogance, ignorance and violence connected to the words "National Football League."

"

3. Sharper heads to prison

Nick Ut/Associated Press

I wrote about Darren Sharper last year in what has been a remarkable case. At least part of that horrible case is coming to an end as he makes plea deals. The fear, however, is even more bad news might come.

In speaking to team officials who have followed the case, I can tell you there is great fear that Sharper will implicate other NFL players. That has been the fear since Sharper was first arrested, but now that fear is bigger than ever. Maybe Sharper will lie to save his own butt or maybe not. But that is the concern. He will say something that could make this already sad and disturbing case even worse.

4. No resolution to Deflategate yet

Brandon Wade/Associated Press

Many in football believed the NFL's independent investigator would be done by now and possibly presenting his report to Roger Goodell. Then Goodell would in turn be telling the owners this week at their meetings. That obviously isn't happening (I don't think).

The other investigations—into the Browns' texting scandal and the Falcons pumping fake noise into their building (did I miss an investigation?) are also churning along but not complete. The NFL is taking its sweet ass time.

Team executives believe that investigator Ted Wells wouldn't spend months, and millions, investigating this and come back with nothing. What he'll find, they believe, is something tangible, but not a blockbuster report. We'll see. 

5. Michael Sam to CFL?

Joe Skipper/Getty Images

He isn't ruling it out, according to reports from the veteran combine. I've said all along that in part because of bigotry, Sam would have to first prove himself in Canada—even though to me Sam has already demonstrated he's good enough—the way Warren Moon once did. 

I actually think the CFL would be lucky to get Sam. I also don't think they'd care about his sexuality the same way teams there didn't care about Moon's ethnicity.

6. Browns on Hard Knocks

The Browns may not want Hard Knocks, according to what coach Mike Pettine told reporters, but that doesn't mean they won't still get picked. The league could still push them to do it, and besides, they'd be great for it.

There are jokes to be made here. Many jokes. Many, many jokes, but I actually think the Browns would be good on that show. Johnny Manziel is on the team. They have interesting characters in that locker room, an owner that is—um—a little eccentric. And a front office that is—um—a little odd.

The Browns are a bit of a circus, and a circus makes good television.

7. Borland returning cash is a big deal

Al Bello/Getty Images

I don't know if people understand how uncommon it is for a player to voluntarily give back a portion of his signing bonus. Chris Borland will do it.

Most of the time when a team gives a player a signing bonus, and that player retires before the end of his contract, the team has to fight to get it back. The union fights on the player's behalf, and some sort of settlement is worked out. That's usually how it happens. It is exceedingly rare for a player to just give money back.

Well, it's the team's money. He should give it back.

Maybe, but I'm just telling you how it usually works. To me, this makes Borland an even more remarkable person.

8. Former Marine, ATF head joins NFL

Susan Walsh/Associated Press

At initial glance, this seems really unusual. Todd Jones, the former head of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, will join the NFL as a conduct czar. A former head of the ATF and a former Marine now in charge of the conduct policy?

But Jones is a lawyer, and that legal experience will be used to streamline a disciplinary process that, well, needs streamlining.

Here's the biggest issue Jones faces: He has to earn the trust of a union that despises the NFL's disciplinary process and fights the league at every turn. Earning the union's trust may be an impossible job. 

9. AP doesn't have leverage he thinks he does

Adrian Peterson did this to his son, pleaded "no contest" to reckless assault and acts like he has all the cards. No, Adrian. No, you don't.

Oh, there will be teams interested, and they will overlook that he abused his child, and someone will sign him. Yet the market, as one general manager told me, "isn't stupendous." The reason, which is very NFL-ian, isn't just because of the baggage of his crime but because he's 30.

Teams hate backs that are at least 30, even historic backs like Peterson. So the child abuse, plus his age, makes him not as attractive to teams as Peterson seems to think.

10. NFL cheerleader vs. Ronda Rousey

Antonieta Osuna, a cheerleader for the Texans, wouldn't be afraid to fight Ronda Rousey, she told TMZ. Good luck with that. Standup fighters get killed, most of the time, against judo and Brazilian jiu-jitsu experts.

So unless Osuna gets good at BJJ really fast, she'd get destroyed.

Mike Freeman covers the NFL for Bleacher Report.