The Seattle Seahawks and quarterback Russell Wilson may be set to follow in the successful footsteps of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Jameis Winston - wait, shouldn't that be the other way around?
A report emerged early Monday morning in the wake of the 2015 NFL Draft that the Bucs and GM Jason Licht had included in Winston's rookie contract a clause which prohibits the former college baseball player from attempting to play any sport outside of football.
"In the contract, a Bucs' source said, is a clause prohibiting Winston from playing professional baseball during the life of his Tampa Bay deal," Peter King of Sports Illustrated reported.
Winston had told King earlier in the pre-draft process that he couldn't "speak on" the notion of playing both baseball and football professionally because he was "just playing football right now," leading to ample speculation and concern on the part of Licht and the Bucs - enough concern that they then felt the need to add the clause to Winston's contract.
It's not surprising that an NFL franchise would want to protect their multi-million dollar asset but, interestingly, it's also a decision that could have farther-reaching implications for teams other than the Bucs.
According to ESPN sports business reporter Darren Rovell, the Bucs could have provided a sort of contract template for the Seahawks and Wilson to follow as they attempt to hammer out a fat new deal.
"Bucs contract w/Jameis bans baseball, says @SI_PeterKing. Expect the same for Russell Wilson. Today's big $ has killed 2 sport athlete," Rovell tweeted.
Wilson, of course, has hinted this offseason that he could potentially play baseball professionally - he even attended spring training with the Texas Rangers. Some have speculated that this could simply be a contract negotiation ploy aimed at getting the most money possible out of the Seahawks.
Seattle GM John Schneider has reportedly not taken the bait and the two sides continue to work on a deal that pays Wilson commensurate with his status as a Super Bowl-winner and allows the Seahawks to maintain some semblance of cap flexibility.
It's almost assured that the Schneider and Wilson's representatives will come together on a new pact, it's simply a matter of "when," not "if."
