Russell Wilson
Russell Carrington Wilson (born November 29, 1988)[1][2] is an American football quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). He previously played 10 seasons for the Seattle Seahawks and two seasons for the Denver Broncos. With the Seahawks, Wilson was named to the Pro Bowl nine times and helped Seattle win their first Super Bowl championship in Super Bowl XLVIII. He is regarded as one of the greatest dual-threat quarterbacks of all time.[3]
This article is about the American football player. For other people with the same name, see Russell Wilson (disambiguation).No. 3 – Pittsburgh Steelers
November 29, 1988
Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S.
5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
215 lb (98 kg)
2012 / Round: 3 / Pick: 75
Active
5,665
5,665
3,668
64.7%
334–106
43,653
100.0
5,307
29
Wilson played college football and baseball at NC State from 2008 to 2010 before transferring to Wisconsin in 2011, where he set the single-season FBS record for passer rating and led them to a Big Ten title and the 2012 Rose Bowl.[4] He also played minor league baseball for the Tri-City Dust Devils in 2010 and the Asheville Tourists in 2011 as a second baseman.[5] The Seattle Seahawks selected Wilson in the third round (75th overall) of the 2012 NFL draft. He tied Peyton Manning's then-record for most passing touchdowns by a rookie and was named Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Year.[6]
Wilson helped lead the Seahawks to two consecutive Super Bowls. He and the Seahawks won Super Bowl XLVIII, but lost Super Bowl XLIX the next year when Wilson was intercepted at the goal line by Malcolm Butler.[7] He holds the record for most wins by an NFL quarterback through nine seasons[8] and is one of four quarterbacks in NFL history with a career passer rating over 100.[9] In April 2019, Wilson signed a four-year, $140 million contract extension with the Seahawks, making him the highest paid player in the NFL at the time.[10] In 2020, he became just the third quarterback in NFL history to throw for thirty touchdowns in four consecutive seasons.[11] Wilson was traded to the Denver Broncos in 2022, after which he signed a five-year, $245 million contract extension. His time with the Broncos was marked with disappointment, with the Broncos having the league's worst scoring offense in 2022. Wilson was benched near the end of the 2023 season in a financially motivated move and was released in the offseason, where he signed a one-year deal with the Steelers.
Noted for his philanthropy, Wilson was named the Walter Payton Man of the Year in 2020 and was the recipient of the Bart Starr Award in 2022. Wilson is also part owner of the Seattle Sounders FC of Major League Soccer (MLS). After he purchased his minority stake, the Sounders won the 2019 MLS Cup.[12][13]
Early life and background
Wilson was born at The Christ Hospital in Cincinnati,[14] and grew up in Richmond, Virginia. His parents are Harrison Benjamin Wilson III, a lawyer, and Tammy Wilson (née Turner), a nurse director.[15][16][17] He has an older brother, Harrison IV, and a younger sister, Anna.[18] Wilson started playing football with his father and brother at the age of four, and played his first organized game for the Tuckahoe Tomahawks youth football team in sixth grade.[15][19]
Wilson's great-great-grandfather was enslaved to a Confederate colonel and was freed after the American Civil War.[20] Wilson's paternal grandfather, Harrison B. Wilson Jr., was a former president of Norfolk State University who played football and basketball at Kentucky State University, and his paternal grandmother, Anna W. Wilson, was on the faculty at Jackson State University.[21] Wilson's maternal grandfather was noted painter A. B. Jackson.[22] According to genetic admixture analysis, Wilson is 62% African, 36% European, 1% West Asian, and 1% Central Asian.[23][24][25] His European family lineage has been traced back to 524 A.D. to Saint Arnulf of Metz via Charlemagne.[26][27][28][29][30] Wilson also claims to have some Native American ancestry, although he did not explicitly say which tribe he came from.[31][32]
Wilson's father played football and baseball at Dartmouth and was a wide receiver for the San Diego Chargers preseason squad in 1980. Wilson's brother, Harry, played football and baseball at the University of Richmond, and his sister Anna played basketball at Stanford.[33][34][35][36][37]
Wilson's father died of complications from diabetes on June 9, 2010, at age 55,[33] the day after Wilson was drafted by the Rockies.[38]
Professional football career
Pre-draft
On January 16, 2012, Wilson began training for the NFL Scouting Combine at the IMG Madden Football Academy in Bradenton, Florida.[93][94] Prior to the 2012 NFL draft, Wilson had been projected by NFL scouts and analysts to be a middle-round pick.[95] In February 2012, former NFL quarterback and director of the IMG Madden Football Academy Chris Weinke said of Wilson, "If he was 6–5, he'd probably be the No. 1 pick in the draft."[93] On April 11, 2012, ESPN Monday Night Football analyst Jon Gruden said, "The only issue with Russell Wilson is his height. That might be the reason he's not picked in the first couple rounds."[96]
NFL
MLS
Charitable work
Wilson was an active volunteer in the Seattle community. During the NFL season, Wilson made weekly visits on his days off to the Seattle Children's Hospital, and also visited soldiers at Joint Base Lewis-McChord.[20][411] In the offseason, Wilson hosts the Russell Wilson Passing Academy, a youth football camp, in several cities. In 2012, proceeds from the camp went to the Charles Ray III Diabetes Association, for which Wilson is the National Ambassador.[412][413][414] In 2013 and 2014, Wilson partnered with Russell Investments for its "Invested with Russell" program, which donated $3,000 to Wilson's charitable foundation for every touchdown he scored.[415]
Wilson co-hosts an annual charity golf event along with NASCAR driver Kasey Kahne at Suncadia Resort in Cle Elum, Washington, to support various organizations, including Boys & Girls Clubs of America and the Seattle Children's Hospital.[416][417][418] In August 2016, Wilson's Why Not You Foundation raised $1,060,005 for the Seattle Children's Hospital's Strong Against Cancer initiative.[419]
In March 2020, Wilson and Ciara partnered with Food Lifeline to donate one million meals to those in need during the COVID-19 pandemic.[420]
In May 2022, Wilson and Ciara received the Paul G. Allen Humanitarian Award for their philanthropic and humanitarian contributions to Seattle.[421]
In July 2022, Wilson and Ciara pledged to donate $500,000 to nonprofit organizations in Colorado.[422]