Longtime NFL quarterback Russell Wilson, who will turn 38 in November, is finalizing a deal to become a CBS Sports analyst, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported Monday. Wilson will reportedly join CBS’ Sunday pregame show, “The NFL Today,” which also features host James Brown, former NFL wide receiver Nate Burleson and former Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Bill Cowher.
The news arrives ahead of what could have been Wilson’s 15th season in the league. He spent the first 10 of those in Seattle, winning Super Bowl XLVIII with the Seahawks during the 2013 season and falling just short of back-to-back championships the following year. In 2022, he was traded to the Denver Broncos and given a gaudy extension that ultimately resulted in a record $85 million worth of dead money when the veteran signal-caller was released in 2024.
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He took on the role of Steelers QB1 for most of the 2024 campaign. Last season, he initially got the nod as the New York Giants’ starting QB, but he was benched for a rookie Jaxson Dart in the wake of an 0-3 start.
Wilson, a Pro Bowler 10 times and as recently as 2024 with the Steelers, took a visit with the New York Jets in late April. He told the New York Post that the Jets offered him a contract but that he was mulling a pivot to TV, too.
The Jets’ QB room is currently headlined by Geno Smith, whom Wilson once started in front of in Seattle. That position group includes rookie Cade Klubnik, Brady Cook and Bailey Zappe. Rather than join that mix, Wilson is reportedly going the broadcast route this season.
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After entering the league in 2012, Wilson piled up an assortment of accolades for his work on and off the field. The latter was recognized league-wide when he was named the Walter Payton Man of the Year in 2020.
The Seahawks drafted Wilson in the third round out of Wisconsin. That said, he began his college career at North Carolina State. Despite lacking prototypical quarterback size, the sub-6-foot Wilson immediately climbed the depth chart in Seattle. His preseason play overshadowed the offseason signing of Matt Flynn, and the rest was history. Wilson got the keys to the Seahawks’ offense and didn’t give them up for 10 seasons.
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A game manager at times and an elusive escape artist at others, Wilson’s precision passing and dual-threat ability complemented an elite Seahawks defense for years. He led Seattle to the postseason eight times, twice winning the NFC championship.
Wilson played in only one playoff game after leaving Seattle, and that was in the 2024 season with the Steelers, who were once again one-and-done.
In nearly a decade and a half of NFL experience, Wilson’s accumulated 46,966 passing yards, 353 passing touchdowns, 114 interceptions, 5,568 rushing yards and 31 rushing touchdowns. He has a career passing rating of 99.3. He topped the league in that department during the 2015 campaign. Two seasons later, in 2017, his 34 touchdown passes were an NFL-best.
Wilson’s now poised to begin a new chapter of his career, one he teased when serving as a guest analyst for CBS during his 2025 bye week.