Sometimes the best deals are the ones you don't make. And sometimes, the best deals are the ones you do make.
For the Seattle Seahawks, the Russell Wilson trade was a defining moment for the franchise. It would've been easy to keep the player who delivered so much success to the team in the Pacific Northwest, including the Seahawks' first Super Bowl victory.
While a fractured relationship between the two sides made it easier to move on, the Seahawks could've held onto the past. Instead, they traded away Wilson and wandered into an uncertain future. In some ways, they volunteered to be what the Denver Broncos didn't want to be anymore in the post-Peyton Manning era.
Stuck in quarterback purgatory.
Except the king's ransom delivered to Seattle was
far from fool's gold. And the quarterback shipped off to Denver didn't come as advertised.
The Seahawks' blowout victory over the Broncos in Super Bowl 48 figured to be the link between the two teams in history. Instead, an even bigger blowout happened less than a decade later.
So settle in and get comfortable. It's time to buckle up for a trip down memory lane as we revisit the famous Wilson trade.
What was the Russell Wilson trade?
The Seahawks traded Wilson and a fourth-round pick to the Broncos in exchange for QB Drew Lock, TE Noah Fant, DT Shelby Harris and a hefty package of draft picks. Denver parted with two first-round picks, two second-round picks and a fifth-round pick as part of the deal to acquire Wilson.
When was Russell Wilson traded to the Broncos?
The Seahawks agreed to trade Wilson to the Broncos on March 8, 2022. The trade was officially completed just eight days later on March 16, 2022.
Why did the Seahawks trade Russell Wilson?
Multiple factors led to Wilson's departure from Seattle, including a fractured relationship with the team and a looming contract extension.
One of the biggest trades of the last decade, the deal represented a seismic shift in the NFL's landscape. It signaled an end to the golden era of Seahawks football, which saw eight playoff appearances in 10 seasons. That included two Super Bowl appearances, winning one.
Wilson quarterbacked the Seahawks to just one losing season in his Seattle tenure and that came in his final season with the team.
Even though Wilson's play was declining by then, the Broncos were trying to stabilize the franchise after riding the quarterback carousel following Manning's retirement.
Denver cycled through 11 quarterbacks, if you include Kendall Hinton's emergency start in 2020, following Manning's retirement in 2015 prior to acquiring Wilson.
At that point, the Broncos were willing to try anything to right a sinking ship.
What did the Broncos get in the Russell Wilson trade?
The Broncos didn't just get Wilson back in the trade. They also inked the quarterback to a five-year, $242.5 million contract extension prior to the start of the 2022 season. It included $161 million guaranteed.
In addition to Wilson, the Broncos received a fourth-round pick from the Seahawks in the 2022 NFL Draft. That pick, No. 116 overall, was used to select Eyioma Uwazurike – a defensive lineman out of Iowa State.
While Denver also did receive quite the financial headache by eventually releasing Wilson in 2024, Uwazurike is still a member of the Broncos' defense.
He has appeared in 39 games across four seasons and was suspended for the 2023 season following gambling violations. Reinstated in 2024, Uwazurike saw his role grow in 2025.
What did the Seahawks get in the Russell Wilson trade?
In some ways, you could say that the Seahawks got the franchise's second Super Bowl out of the Wilson trade. Seattle acquired Lock, Fant and Harris as immediate additions to the roster in 2022.
However, the Seahawks' use of the draft picks made the trade historic, in a good way, for the team.
The fifth-round pick was traded away, but the two first-round picks became LT Charles Cross and CB Devon Witherspoon. The second-round picks became Edge Boye Mafe and LB Derick Hall. All of those players had key roles in Seattle's victory in Super Bowl 60.
Witherspoon has been selected to the Pro Bowl in each of his first three seasons and is considered one of the best cornerbacks in the sport. Cross became a foundational piece along the Seahawks' offensive line. Hall recovered a key fumble in the Super Bowl.
Seattle extended each of those players, while Mafe parlayed his success into a $60 million contract with the Cincinnati Bengals in free agency.
Indirectly, trading Wilson also let the team rebuild on the fly and evaluate other roster pieces. Instead of paying out a lucrative contract extension for past success, Seattle could operate with Geno Smith for three seasons before landing a new star in Sam Darnold.
The Wilson trade showed the NFL world that the Seahawks weren't going to live in the past. It was the same way the team operated with Pete Carroll, firing the head coach after the 2023 season to get a fresh start with Mike Macdonald – who has quickly established himself as one of the best coaches in the sport.
Where is Russell Wilson now?
Wilson is now working for CBS Sports, serving as an analyst on "The NFL Today."
He officially retired from the NFL on June 3, 2026 after bouncing around following his unceremonious release from the Broncos in 2024. He joined the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2024, serving as the team's starting quarterback before moving on to join the New York Giants in 2025.
The quarterback was benched after just three games with "Big Blue," paving the way for Jaxson Dart to take over.
A Super Bowl champion, 10-time Pro Bowl player and Walter Payton Man of the Year, Wilson hung up his cleats after 14 seasons in the NFL.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: The Russell Wilson trade made the Seahawks, not the Broncos, a Super Bowl team
