The Sports Xchange

RENTON, Wash. — The Seattle Seahawks could hardly have asked for a better way to open training camp, awaking to the news Friday morning that quarterback Russell Wilson had signed a four-year contract extension.

OK, well maybe they would have changed one thing — the beginning of a holdout by strong safety Kam Chancellor. But the Wilson news overshadowed any pall from Chancellor’s absence.

Seahawks fans had spent the offseason fretting over every seeming twist and turn in the Wilson contract drama, with speculation increasing throughout the summer that he could play the year without a new deal.

Wilson had set a deadline of the beginning of camp to reach a deal, with his agent Mark Rodgers confirming that Wilson did not want it hanging over his head.

After a week of talks, the two sides finally came to an agreement, with one of the key breakthroughs coming when the two sides agreed on a four-year extension, beginning in 2016. That will allow Wilson to hit free agency when he’s 31.

The deal will pay Wilson $87.6 million with a $31 million signing bonus — the most ever awarded by the Seahawks — and $61.5 million in guarantees overall, the most in the NFL.

Wilson said news of the deal, which he received Thursday night around 11 p.m., was “exciting.”

“I’ve always been confident it was going to happen, I never really doubted it was going to happen,” he said.

Seattle coach Pete Carroll sang a similar tune.

“It was imminent, it was coming the whole time,” he said. “We wanted to do it, it was his turn, you know how we’ve done it, you’ve watched this. We give guys opportunities and we try to take full advantage of nailing them when we can. It was a long process to get it done but now that it’s over, it’s good for him, it’s good for our club.”

The contract leaves the Seahawks with about $4 million left in cap space for the 2015 season and with one major goal left: a similar extension for middle linebacker Bobby Wagner, who, like Wilson, is entering his fourth season.

Wagner and the Seahawks have been in talks throughout the summer and there had been some thought the two were close to a deal, especially if things fell through with Wilson.

Carroll said he thinks a deal can still get done quickly.

“We’re on it,” he said, adding that anyone who says the Seahawks don’t now have room to get something done with Wagner is “not right.”

As for Chancellor, Carroll said he hoped there was something that could be done to bring the team’s standout strong safety into camp. It remained unclear what Chancellor wants as he has three years left on his contract, and the Seahawks have been adamant about not redoing contracts with that many years left.

Carroll said he did not think Chancellor’s holdout would be a distraction and said, “We’d love to have him back with us. He has his points. He’s got his thoughts, he’s a very smart guy. He’s thought this out and made it very clear the choice this time.”

What the Seahawks knew for sure is that they will have the services of Wilson through the 2019 season. They had to give him a guarantee that ranks as the biggest in NFL history but also were able to keep the salary to a shade below that of Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers, who is making $22 million a season.

Wilson said he was able to keep the money side separate from the playing side during the talks, but was glad it was now over.

“I don’t think it was personal,” he said. “I know it was business. At the end of the day I’m happy to be a Seahawk, I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else. It’s a blessing, a championship type team, and the goal is to win the Super Bowl this year, Super Bowl 50 is on our minds. No matter what, I was going to be focused on the season, I was going to be ready to play no matter what the circumstances.”

–Starting free safety Earl Thomas was one of four players to begin the season on the physically unable to perform list as he continues his rehab from offseason shoulder surgery. Carroll said there was no set timeline on when Thomas will return to practice and said the Seahawks will take a long-term approach to his recovery and exercise patience.

The other three on PUP are cornerbacks Jeremy Lane (knee/arm) and Tharold Simon (shoulder) and wide receiver Paul Richardson (knee).