Russell Wilson’s one-year contract is worth “up to” $21 million. What does he have to do to get there? NFL Network reporter Ian Rapoport shared some of the details for him to maximize his contract and, by extension, the Pittsburgh Steelers’ compensatory pick.
Per Rapoport, $3 million of his incentives and bonuses are based on win total and logging more than half the offense’s snaps. He notes the rest are tied to individual and team performance.
#Giants QB Russell Wilson’s $10.5M deal includes a complicated incentive package that can be worth up to $7.5M more based on a variety of play-time, performance & playoff incentives.
Also up to $3M is available ($176.5K per game) based on wins and playing more than 50% plays. pic.twitter.com/0ioUiAMRxo
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 26, 2025
We likely won’t know the full incentive structure for a little while longer. Wilson officially signed his contract Thursday, ending a two-week free agency that ended with him officially departing the Steelers. His third team in as many years, Pittsburgh ostensibly didn’t want Wilson to return and is content waiting on Aaron Rodgers to decide his NFL future.
The better Wilson and the Giants do, the better the Steelers will do in the 2026 NFL Draft. Over the Cap’s Nick Korte currently projects Pittsburgh to receive fifth-round compensatory value based on Wilson’s guaranteed $10.5 million salary. However, it could become a fourth or even a third should Wilson log plenty of playing time and perform well.
Given that part of Wilson’s incentives are playoff-based, he’ll need to lead New York to postseason success the franchise hasn’t recently enjoyed. The Giants have made the playoffs just once over the past eight seasons and haven’t won a postseason game since winning their last Super Bowl in 2011. Head coach Brian Daboll and staff enter 2025 on the hot seat. Another poor season could mean that ownership will clean house.
Pittsburgh is currently projected to receive the league maximum of four compensatory selections: a third for OT Dan Moore Jr., a fourth for QB Justin Fields, a fifth for Wilson, and a sixth for OG James Daniels. But nothing is set in stone, and playing time and incentives, along with any additional qualifying free-agent signings Pittsburgh makes until the Monday following the draft, can move those picks up and down until the NFL releases the selections next March.
Recommended for you