The Denver Broncos had encashed all their chips when they brought Russell Wilson to their team over from the Seattle Seahawks in 2022. They had paid a hefty $245 million to acquire him in the hopes that he would turn around their tide and help their first Super Bowl Championship since 2015. But alas, that was not to be. Even though he started on a rough note at his new home with a 5-12 record in 2022, this season they have done much better. With just one game left, they are 8-8.

However, it seems that the Broncos’ ownership and coaching staff had run out of patience with the 35-year-old QB. In a shock move, they benched him in favor of Jarett Stidham. But was his performance the only reason behind his benching?

Why was Russell Wilson benched at the fag end of the season?

The Athletic reported that Wilson himself said that he was benched because he refused to change the terms of his contract. And what were these terms? Ian Rapoport took to X and revealed the nitty-gritty of the contract. His contract had an injury clause that said that if he injured himself during the season, his $37 million salary would become vested.

Apparently, the Broncos had approached him regarding changing this clause two months ago. It seems that they were unsure of Wilson and wanted to cut him off during the next season. By benching him for the last two games of the season, there can be no way for him to get injured and thus activate the clause. This would now give them more “flexibility” to cut him before the March deadline.

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So, how had the run with the Broncos been for the star QB? He not only got them through a rut, but has given them their best season since 2016.