flv2
Well-known member
Wagner was due almost $17M when the Seahawks released him, and he was maybe worth $8-10M. The Rams gave him a $10M per year contract with a $2M performance bonus that wasn't earned. No other team matched that offer. The Rams chose not to make the same mistake in 2023 and they released him. He has accepted a deal for $5.5M with the Seahawks in 2023.Could you imagine the thoughts going through Bobby Wagner's head, as he negotiated his own contract, and basically endured the ridiculous notion of being asked to take a pay cut so that Jamaal Adams could get paid instead? I would feel so damn disrespected. I give mad props to BWagz for being an adult about it and coming back home. Mad props indeed. It has elevated my perception of Wagner to a whole new level. He rose above it. I seriously doubt that any other player from that Super Bowl team could have swallowed his pride like that.
If I had my druthers, the Adams deal would have never been done and BWagz would have been given that contract instead. The real boon would have been keeping the draft capital on top of deservedly paying a Hall of Fame, Madden-99-rated, top-100-voted-by-the-players, Ring of Honor Seahawk. Further, this whole argument goes beyond the fact that Wagner still delivers at a high level. This is also about the message sent to the locker room as well as potential free agents throughout the entire league.
Paying Adams instead of Wagner was the dumbest decision of Pete Carroll's entire career and I'm probably the biggest Pete Carroll fanboy on the planet. Seriously. I sincerely hope that Carroll eventually leaves the team entirely on his own terms with another championship to cement his legacy, but damn that was a bonehead move. Carroll earned forgiveness for his mistake with his championship cache, but I hope he learned from his mistake as well.
Adams signed his deal in August 2021 when he was in his prime. The Seahawks deciding not to massively overpay Wagner in 2022 had nothing to do with Adams' deal.