Broncos and NFL set to face legal action for ‘unfairly’ benching Russell Wilson for rest of season over his contract

NFLPA had warned the Broncos that threatening to bench Russell Wilson due to an injury guarantee clause was illegal.

Broncos and NFL set to face legal action for ‘unfairly’ benching Russell Wilson for rest of season over his contract

Russell Wilson and Sean Payton (Via Fox News/Pride of Detroit)

Russell Wilson‘s journey with the Denver Broncos didn’t go as anyone thought it would. Looking back at his two seasons, it seems Wilson leaving the franchise was inevitable. And now that, it’s going to happen, both parties are standing on bitter terms with each other, to the extent that NFLPA got involved.

The whole fiasco is about one clause in Wilson’s contract that talks about the injury guaranteed to the quarterback of $37 million if he fails to qualify for the physical in March. To avoid paying Wilson that amount, the Broncos and its head coach Sean Payton decided to bench him for the remaining two games of this season. When asked the reason, the head coach replied in a bizarre sense indicating his rift with the Pro Bowler.

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However, that wasn’t all. When everything was getting revealed, Wilson shared that after the victory against the Kansas City Chiefs in week 7, the franchise threatened him with two options — either to renounce the injury guarantee or get benched.

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When the news unraveled previously, the NFLPA had warned the Broncos that threatening to bench Wilson due to an injury guarantee clause was illegal. And if they move forward with this, they will violate the CBA. Now that the Broncos had actually done that, the NFLPA anticipated imposing legal actions against the franchise, leading to arbitration.

After getting threatened by the Broncos, quarterback Wilson was quite upset as he had been playing to the level he was expected to do this season. In fact, after the benching decision came, fans even tallied Wilson’s stats to Chiefs’ star quarterback Patrick Mahomes, and they were surprisingly identical.

Russell Wilson’s uncertain future ahead of postseason

After a slow start this season, quarterback Wilson seemed to have gotten back to his old form as he witnessed many fourth-quarter comebacks, resulting in the Broncos victories. He had defeated contending teams such as the Chiefs, and Buffalo Bills leading to clinching the playoffs.

Russell Wilson
Russell Wilson (Via CNN)

However, his performances weren’t enough for the head coach Payton or the franchise, as they benched him right before the postseason, and are likely to release him in March 2024.

Many anticipated that Wilson’s contract with the Broncos may extend to the year 2028 and by the time it ends, he would be around 41. However, with the sudden decision, the 35-year-old quarterback has been left hanging with an uncertain future.

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