Is Bobby Wagner Worth $10M Per Year?

The cost of winning is starting to pile up for the Seattle Seahawks, who have been playing with house money for the past few seasons, garnering maximum production out of rookies with scaled wages. Since 2013 the Hawks have granted long-term extensions to safeties Kam Chancellor and Earl Thomas, CB Richard Sherman, WR Doug Baldwin, LB K.J. Wright, and DE Cliff Avril. Next on the list appears to be QB Russell Wilson, and ILB Bobby Wagner.
We'll compare the soon-to-be 25 year old Wagner's statistical production over the past few seasons to a group of other ILBs who signed extensions at a similar age with their respective teams to produce a value forecast for what his forthcoming contract might look like.
Player | Length | Value | Avg. Salary | Guaranteed | Age When Signed |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Donald Butler | 7 | $51,800,000 | $7,400,000 | $11,150,000 | 25 |
Sean Lee | 6 | $42,000,000 | $7,000,000 | $16,130,000 | 26 |
Lawrence Timmons | 5 | $47,795,750 | $9,559,150 | $11,000,000 | 24 |
Navorro Bowman | 5 | $45,250,000 | $9,050,000 | $11,000,000 | 24 |
Averages | 5.75 | $46,711,438 | $8,252,288 | $12,320,000 | 24.75 |
Related: View the list of Top Average Inside Linebackers in the NFL
Length | Value | Avg. Salary (slope) |
---|---|---|
6 | $47,023,543 | $7,837,257 |
Player | G/YR | Sacks/G | TKL/G | Stops/G |
---|---|---|---|---|
Donald Butler (2012-13, SD) | 12.5 | .14 | 5.4 | 2.48 |
Sean Lee (2012-13, DAL) | 8.5 | 0 | 6.11 | 3.94 |
Lawrence Timmons (2009-10, PIT) | 15 | .2 | 6.2 | 3.8 |
Navorro Bowman (2010-11, SF) | 16 | .13 | 7.1 | 4.3 |
AVERAGES | 13 | .11 | 6.22 | 3.64 |
Bobby Wagner (2013-14, SEA) | 12.5 | .28 | 6.88 | 3.92 |
% Change | -3.85% | 138.3% | 10.53% | 7.43% |
MEDIAN PRIME PERCENTAGE: | 8.98% | |||
Average PRIME PErcentage: | 38.10% |
Length of the Contract
Inside linebackers have been garnering longer contracts than most positions over the past few seasons, and the reasoning isn't really clear. At nearly 25 years old, and with back to back excellent seasons in Seattle, there's no reason to believe Wagner shouldn't be offered a 5+ year contract. Seattle rarely signs players to contracts of more than 4 years, so even a 5 year extension would be a stretch for Wagner. We'll assume 4 new years for this forecast.
Value of the Contract
Our base contract outputted a value just north of $47M over 6 years, or $7.83M per season. When factoring in his slight prime percentages based on statistical production this figure increases to a figure he's likely much more pleased with.