The Sports Xchange

Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll put the ball in Russell Wilson’s court as a contract stalemate continues entering the contract year for the fourth-year quarterback.

All Wilson has done, of course, is go from third-round pick competing for the quarterback job to the engineer of the Seahawks’ offense and back-to-back trips to the Super Bowl. Wilson can become a free agent at the end of the 2015 season and is expected to bet on himself this season, playing without a long-term deal to take negotiations into February and March 2016.

“It’s ongoing, but going a little slow,” Carroll said Saturday during an interview with ESPN. “We’re waiting to hear from their side. Every guy’s individual case is different. Russell has been an extraordinary player for us and for our community. We hope to get something done as soon as we can and we’re working at it. But there are parts that are moving here. We’ve worked very hard to keep this team together and Russell is a huge part of that. He’s going to be with us and we’re excited about moving forward with him.”

ESPN’s Adam Schefter said immediately after the interview that Wilson’s side is not willing to take a financial guarantee they view as below market value. During the report, Schefter said the Seahawks would like to do a deal with guarantees in the same ballpark as the deal given to cornerback Richard Sherman last year. That contract was a four-year, $56 million deal with $40 million in guarantees.

By comparison, the Chicago Bears gave quarterback Jay Cutler $54 million guaranteed on a seven-year pact. Cutler has one career playoff victory.

The going rate for top-level quarterbacks is at least $20 million per season.

Sherman’s deal averages $14 million per year.