The Seattle Seahawks are arguably the best run organization in the NFL. Pete Carroll and John Schneider have continually done things that are not with the NFL's status quo, and proven that it can work. The NFL is progressively becoming a pass first league, at times ignoring the running game all together. In Seattle they found success with a run-first mentality. Before Brandon Browner and Richard Sherman, corners were rarely above 6'2", now they're viewed as a commodity as teams try to find similar success with bigger corners. Carroll and Schneider took a chance on a QB who was under 6', and helped open the door for shorter QB's like Johnny Manziel get drafted in the first round despite being 5'11". These things are important because it shows a clear pattern of Seattle going against the grain repeatedly in the past, and provides some insight into the situation with QB Russell Wilson.

As mentioned before, Wilson and the Seahawks are in a stalemate over Wilson's contract extension, with Wilson wanting to be paid more than any other player in the NFL, and the Seahawks only willing to give Wilson a Ben Roethlisberger like deal. News has now surfaced that Seattle and Wilson are dealing with structure issues. According to Jim Trotter, Wilson's camp wants real guarantees. "Look, this is strictly about structured and guaranteed money, okay. It's not about average per year or any of those things. Russell Wilson wants all of his guarantees to be real guarantees. That's different from the way that the Seahawks normally structure their contracts. What they do are called "virtual guarantees" as what most other teams do. If a player is on the roster on a certain date, then his salary for that year becomes guaranteed. Russell Wilson doesn't want that. He wants any guarantees to be real, which means he gets it whether he's hurt or not, or whether he's on the field or not.

Right now, the Seahawks aren't willing to do that.

And, in part, they're not willing to do it because Paul Allen, the owner, would have to write a check and put any real guarantees in escrow for Russell Wilson. Most owners aren't going to write a check for $60 million and put it in escrow for a guy that's entering his fourth year."

According to Trotter, no one should expect the Seahawks to blink, nor should they. Wilson has not yet proven that he deserves Aaron Rodgers like money. He's still developing as a pocket passer, has a tendency to hold on the ball to long, at times overlooking open receivers in an attempt to look for a bigger play. Wilson needs to improve on third downs after regressing from the previous season throwing just 2 touchdowns with 4 interceptions and ranked 27th in passer rating.

What should Seattle pay Wilson? A good basis for this deal should be what Pittsburgh did with their QB Ben Roethlisberger. Roethlisberger received a 4-year extension worth around $88 million, with $65 million of that guaranteed. Seattle would have to guarantee three of the four years of the contract if Wilson is on the roster throughout the whole extension. If Wilson takes the Seahawks to another deep playoff run, which appears likely, then Wilson will be with a doubt be in the range for this type of deal. As with the other contracts the Seahawks have done with their stars, they should make sure the extension kicks in after this year in order to keep cashing in on the bargain Wilson has been.

The timetable for this deal is a bit unknown at this point. If Wilson and his agent Mark Rodgers are as patient as they say they are this standoff could last a long time. If they can't get a deal done before the season is over, Wilson will be given the Franchise Tag. Despite the report from Pro Football Talk that the Seahawks would allow other teams to negotiate with Wilson by using the Non-Exclusive Tag, it seems unlikely Seattle would take that gamble, especially in 2016. That option is possible in the 2018 offseason, but if Wilson and Seattle cannot come to an agreement by that time then there very likely could be a trade.

The Seahawks realize that a QB is important in the NFL, but they don't value any position more than the other. If Pete Carroll and John Schneider once again go against the grain in the NFL, don't be surprised if it ends up being smart in the long run.