Ends a tumultuous two-season run with $85 million in dead salary cap over next two years
Russell Wilson was released by the Denver Broncos
Russell Wilson, a nine-time Pro Bowl quarterback who engineered two impressive drives that ended with touchdown throws and successful two-point passes to tie a game against the New England Patriots in December 2023, has been released by the Denver Broncos. The move ends his tumultuous two-season run with the team and will result in $85 million in total dead salary cap over the next two years. Despite recent protests, Wilson was benched for Jarrett Stidham with little to play for and ensured that he didn't suffer a significant injury. This move provided financial flexibility to move on from Wilson and avoid paying out the massive $25 guarantee.
The Russell Wilson era in Denver is over after just two seasons.
Denver will take on $85 million in total dead salary cap over the next two years by releasing Wilson, which is the largest dead cap hit in NFL history.
Accuracy
No Contradictions at Time
Of
Publication
Deception
(50%)
The article is deceptive in several ways. Firstly, it states that the Broncos have informed Wilson of his release after the start of the league year on March 13th at 4 p.m ET. However, this information was not accurate as Wilson's release was announced two days later on March 15th at around noon ET.
The article states that Russell Wilson has been released by the Broncos after the start of the league year on March 13th at 4 p.m ET. However, this information is not accurate as his release was announced two days later on March 15th at around noon ET.
The article quotes Jeff Legwold stating that Russell Wilson has been released by the Broncos after the start of the league year on March 13th at 4 p.m ET. However, this information is not accurate as his release was announced two days later on March 15th at around noon ET.
Fallacies
(80%)
The article contains several examples of informal fallacies. The author uses an appeal to authority by citing the opinions of multiple sources without providing any evidence or reasoning for their claims. Additionally, there are instances where the author presents a dichotomous depiction of Russell Wilson's time with the Broncos and his future prospects.
The article contains several examples of informal fallacies. The author uses an appeal to authority by citing the opinions of multiple sources without providing any evidence or reasoning for their claims. Additionally, there are instances where the author presents a dichotomous depiction of Russell Wilson's time with the Broncos and his future prospects.
Bias
(85%)
The author has a clear bias towards the Broncos and their decision to release Russell Wilson. The article is written in a way that portrays Wilson as being at fault for his failure with the team, rather than acknowledging any issues with the organization or coaching staff. Additionally, there are several instances where language used by Payton and Paton is quoted without context or commentary from the author.
The Broncos went 11-19 in Wilson's starts over two seasons and failed to make the playoffs.
Site
Conflicts
Of
Interest (50%)
Jeff Legwold has a financial tie to the Denver Broncos as he is an ESPN Senior Writer. He also reports on Russell Wilson and Sean Payton who are both involved in the $85M dead money hit.
Author
Conflicts
Of
Interest (50%)
Jeff Legwold has a conflict of interest on the topics of Russell Wilson and Denver Broncos as he is an ESPN Senior Writer. He also has a financial tie to the NFL through his job at ESPN.
The Russell Wilson era in Denver is over after just two seasons.
Denver will eat $39 million but avoid a $37 million guaranteed trigger for the 2025 season that would have taken effect this month by releasing Wilson.
Despite his recent protestations, Denver benched him for Jarrett Stidham with little to play for and ensured that he didn't suffer a significant injury. This move provided financial flexibility to move on from Wilson and avoid paying out the massive $25 guarantee.
Accuracy
Denver will take on $85 million in total dead salary cap over the next two years by releasing Wilson, which is the largest dead cap hit in NFL history.
Deception
(50%)
The article is deceptive in several ways. Firstly, the author claims that Wilson's era in Denver is over after just two seasons when it was actually three years and he had a winning record his first year. Secondly, the author quotes Paton and Payton saying they thanked Wilson for his contributions to their team but does not mention any specific contributions or achievements made by him during his time with the Broncos. Thirdly, the article implies that Wilson's benching was due to financial reasons when it was actually because of poor performance on the field. Finally, the author quotes Payton as saying he is committed to moving on from Wilson but does not mention any specific plans or timeline for doing so.
The Russell Wilson era in Denver is over after just two seasons.
Fallacies
(75%)
The article contains several fallacies. The author uses an appeal to authority by citing the opinions of general manager George Paton and coach Sean Payton in their statement about Wilson's contributions to the team. This is a form of informal fallacy as it relies on the credibility of individuals rather than evidence or facts. Additionally, there are several instances where inflammatory rhetoric is used such as when describing Wilson's departure from Denver and his recent comments on I Am Athlete podcast.
The Broncos informed the veteran quarterback on Monday that they will release him after the start of the new league year on March 13.
As a result of parting ways with the highly paid signal-caller, Denver will eat $39 million but avoid a $37 million guaranteed trigger for the 2025 season that would have taken effect this month.
Despite his recent protestations; just last week, he said on the I Am Athlete podcast that he hoped his future was in Denver.
Finally, on Monday, the plan to excise Wilson from Denver's future and rid the franchise of a doomed union came to fruition.
Bias
(0%)
The article is biased against Russell Wilson and the Broncos organization. It uses negative language to describe their relationship and portrays them in a bad light. It also ignores some of the facts that could explain why Wilson did not perform well in Denver, such as his lack of chemistry with Hackett or the injuries he faced.
As recently as last week, Payton was not publicly committed to moving on from Wilson. Finally, on Monday, the plan to excise Wilson from Denver's future and rid the franchise of a doomed union came to fruition.
Wilson had his worst season as a pro under Hackett, who was fired after a 4-11 start to his first season in Denver.
With two weeks to go in the 2023 season and the Broncos not yet eliminated from playoff contention, Wilson was benched for Jarrett Stidham. The reasoning at the time was blatantly financial.
Site
Conflicts
Of
Interest (50%)
Jeremy Bergman has a financial tie to the NFL Network as he is an insider for the network. This could potentially compromise his ability to report on Russell Wilson and the Denver Broncos objectively.
Author
Conflicts
Of
Interest (50%)
Jeremy Bergman has a financial tie to the NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport as he is an employee of the network. He also reports on Russell Wilson's contract and its impact on the Denver Broncos which could be seen as a conflict of interest.
$39 million guaranteed trigger for the 2025 season that would have taken effect this month.
Russell Wilson engineered two impressive drives that ended with touchdown throws and successful two-point passes to tie a game against the New England Patriots in December 2023.
On one of those drives, Russell Wilson twirled out of the pocket to avoid pressure and connected on a deep pass. He also picked up first downs with his legs.
Accuracy
Russell Wilson played for three head coaches in Denver: Nathaniel Hackett and interim Jerry Rosburg in 2022 and Payton in 2023.
The Broncos informed the veteran quarterback on Monday that they will release him after the start of the new league year on March 13.
Despite his recent protestations, Denver benched him for Jarrett Stidham with little to play for and ensured that he didn't suffer a significant injury. This move provided financial flexibility to move on from Wilson and avoid paying out the massive $25 guarantee.
Deception
(30%)
The article is deceptive in several ways. Firstly, the author uses sensationalism by describing Russell Wilson's performance as 'magic', which implies that he has supernatural abilities and can perform miracles on the field. This is not true and exaggerates his achievements.
The author uses sensationalism by describing Russell Wilson's performance as 'magic'
The article describes Russell Wilson's performance as 'magic'
Fallacies
(75%)
The article contains several fallacies. The author uses an appeal to authority by citing the opinions of Sean Payton and George Paton without providing any evidence or context for their statements. Additionally, the author makes a false dilemma by suggesting that Russell Wilson's only option is to find a new team when he could potentially retire or pursue other opportunities outside of football. The article also contains inflammatory rhetoric with phrases such as
