Former Seattle Seahawks, Denver Broncos, Pittsburgh Steelers and New York Giants quarterback Russell Wilson announced his retirement from the NFL on Wednesday. The former Super Bowl champion will join the CBS crew as a broadcaster, and now the five-year countdown starts before he’s eligible for the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Wilson is an interesting case for the Hall of Fame. At one point, he was one of the top quarterbacks in the league and won a Super Bowl. But once his time in Seattle came to an end, he tanked his career in Denver and Pittsburgh before ending up as a backup in New York. Off the top of my head, I can’t think of any Hall of Fame quarterbacks who ended their career as a backup to a rookie.

Since Wilson’s case is so interesting, I thought now would be a good time to go through his career and try to determine if he should be a Hall of Famer one day.

The Case For Canton

Russ has a pretty strong Hall of Fame case. In 14 seasons, Wilson threw for 46,966 passing yards (16th all time), 353 passing touchdowns (12th all time) and had a career passer rating of 99.3 (5th all time). On top of that, Wilson ranks top-25 all time in completion percentage, interception percentage and wins. Not bad for a former third rounder.

Another thing to add to Wilson’s resume is just how good the Seahawks were with him under center. Sure, he was aided by some great defenses, but Wilson led Seattle to the playoffs in eight of his 10 seasons with the team, made two Super Bowls and won one in dominant fashion over Peyton Manning.

Statistically, Wilson is a top-15 quarterback in NFL history. But he also has quite a lot going against him in terms of getting in the Hall of Fame.

The Case Against

While the first 10 years of Wilson’s career were about as good as they get, the final four years were nothing but a mess. The Denver Broncos gave up a lot of capital to get him in a trade, and on top of that, they paid him $245 million to be their next quarterback, but things immediately went south.

Wilson was coming off a 3,000-yard, 25-touchdown season in Seattle when he was traded to Denver. You could tell the decline was coming, but he was still better than anyone the Broncos had. Or so they thought.

In year one in the Mile High city, Wilson threw for 3,500 yards, but only managed to toss 16 touchdowns with 11 interceptions as he led the Broncos to just five wins. Year two was a bit better, with Wilson totaling 3,400 yards, 29 touchdowns and eight interceptions, but after an eight-win season, the two parted ways.

After Wilson was released, he signed a one-year deal with the Pittsburgh Steelers. He’d play in just 11 games after injuring his calf in training camp, and in those 11 games, Wilson threw for 2,482 yards, 16 touchdowns and five interceptions, but lost his final five games, including a Wild Card loss to the Baltimore Ravens. After that, Wilson would move on to his third team in as many years.

In 2025, Wilson signed with the New York Giants. He won the starting job over rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart, but only started three games at the beginning of the year before he was benched. There were reports that he tore his hamstring and hid it from the team, which certainly didn’t help his chances, but still, getting benched for a rookie within a month isn’t a great look. Wilson did make a few more appearances later in the year, but he finished his final season with 831 yards, three touchdowns and three interceptions.

Wilson’s career has been a bit of a roller coaster. It started with the highest of highs, but ended with the lowest of lows. Maybe you shouldn’t take the final years into account when deciding if he should be a Hall of Famer, but it’s hard to forget how bad the last few years were.

When Could Russ Get In?

The Pro Football Hall of Fame requires a player to be retired for five full seasons before they’re eligible for the Hall of Fame. That’s the reason that Philip Rivers, a pretty sure-fire Hall of Famer, won’t be able to get in until 2031 after returning to the field for a handful of games this season.

Because of that rule, Wilson will not be eligible for the Hall of Fame until 2031, and as long as Rivers doesn’t make another unexpected return to the field, he’ll already have an uphill battle against one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time on the same ballot. Lavonte David, one of the best linebackers of his generation, will also be eligible for the Hall of Fame in 2031. Plus, we don’t know how many guys from the 2026-2030 class will slip through the cracks and still be on the ballot in 2031.

Wilson will absolutely be in consideration for a spot in 2031, especially because he’s a quarterback, but I don’t think it’s a guarantee that he’s going to get in on his first try.

Comparable Players

Now it’s time to compare Russell Wilson’s career to some other quarterbacks to see if he should actually get into the Hall of Fame. And I’ll be honest, there aren’t many great comparisons, at least statistically. Wilson’s kind of on an island on his own. Everyone around him in passing yards has fewer touchdowns and more interceptions, but I did my best to find some close comps.

Let’s start with Mr. Kirk Cousins. The Las Vegas Raiders QB has 2,000 fewer passing yards, 55 fewer touchdowns and 17 more interceptions than Wilson, but he’s also played 31 fewer games than the former Seahawk. In terms of averages, Cousins has averaged 27 more passing yards and 0.01 fewer touchdowns per game than Wilson. You’re not going to find a much closer comparison statistically than Cousins. The only think Cousins doesn’t have is a Super Bowl ring. But let’s say Cousins magically leads the Raiders to a Super Bowl this year, would you consider him a Hall of Famer? If so, Wilson should probably get in. If not, then maybe you should be on the other side of this debate.

Now let’s compare Wilson to one of the most controversial Hall of Fame candidates: Eli Manning. Manning has 10,000 more passing yards and 13 more touchdowns, but has thrown twice the interceptions and has played 31 more games than Wilson. Wilson has been the more efficient player, but he has one Super Bowl to Eli’s two, and Manning also won two Super Bowl MVPs. It’s the age old debate of championships vs stats. Do you value two Super Bowl wins over Tom Brady more than career-long stats? That’s the big question.

For our final comparison, let’s talk about Brett Favre. He absolutely blows Wilson out of the water in terms of overall stats, but when you average it out, they’re actually very similar. Favre averaged eight more passing yards and 0.04 fewer touchdowns per game than Wilson over the course of his career, and they have very similar winning percentages. On top of that, both of them won a single Super Bowl and were named to 10+ Pro Bowls. Favre does clear Wilson in All-Pros, with six to Wilson’s one, but other than that, they’re pretty similar. Favre’s longevity definitely gives him a leg up, but at their peaks, they were similar quarterbacks statistically.

This is what makes the Russell Wilson debate so hard. On one hand, you can compare him very closely to Kirk Cousins. On the other, he’s basically Brett Favre. That’s what’s going to trip up a lot of Hall of Fame voters.

The Verdict

There were some great years, but the big red flag on Wilson’s resume is how his career ended. After 10 amazing seasons in Seattle, which included winning a Super Bowl, Wilson was never able to find his former self in Denver, Pittsburgh or New York. Was he a product of the system in Seattle? Or did he really just hit a cliff at 33 years old?

There aren’t many Hall of Fame quarterbacks whose career ended as low as Wilson’s. Guys like Steve Young and Tom Brady were backups at the beginning of their careers, but they didn’t end their career as a backup to a rookie quarterback. No matter how you shape it, those final few years are not a good look, and it could keep him out of the Hall of Fame…At least initially.

If I had to guess, I’d say Wilson gets in at some point. I’m not sure he’s a first ballot Hall of Famer, but it’s hard to finish your career top-15 in so many important statistics and win a Super Bowl, and still not get in.

The end of his career is going to leave a sour taste in a lot of Hall of Famer voter’s mouthes when Wilson’s name gets on the ballot, but eventually there will be a weak Hall of Fame class and he’ll probably slide in. But I’d be pretty surprised if he’s one of the inductees in 2031.