A third-round pick out of Wisconsin in 2012, Russell Wilson proved to be a steal for the Seattle Seahawks.

He surprisingly won the starting job as a rookie, leading Seattle to an 11-5 campaign. They followed that up with a 13-win season in 2013, with Wilson helping them win the first Super Bowl in franchise history. They returned to the Super Bowl in 2014, which they lost in painful fashion.

Wilson continued to lead Seattle to wins, but they eventually decided to move on. That happened in 2022 when Wilson was traded to the Denver Broncos, along with a fourth-round pick in 2022, for the Broncos’ first, second, and fifth-round picks in 2022 and their first and second-round picks in 2023. Seattle also received quarterback Drew Lock, tight end Noah Fant, and defensive tackle Shelby Harris.

Russell Wilson trade among the biggest in NFL history

That trade didn’t work out for Denver, but the Seahawks were more than happy with the results. As Bleacher Report’s Kristopher Knox says, it helped them rebuild their roster, ultimately leading to their latest title. That’s why he ranked this as the fourth-biggest trade in league history.

“Seattle had won the Super Bowl in 2013 with Wilson at the helm, and it reached the big game again in 2014. However, while Wilson had earned his ninth Pro Bowl nod in 2021, the Seahawks hadn’t advanced past the divisional round since 2014 and were clearly looking for a fresh start,” Knox wrote.

“They got it by dealing Wilson and a 2022 fourth-round pick to the Denver Broncos for a massive haul. The Seahawks’ return netted key contributors to their 2026 run, including outside linebacker Derick Hall, edge rusher Boye Mafe, offensive tackle Charles Cross, and cornerback Devon Witherspoon.”

All of those players were vital to their recent Super Bowl win. Mafe, who signed with the Cincinnati Bengals this offseason, is the only one who is no longer with the Seahawks, whereas Witherspoon, Hall, and Cross remain as key pieces.

Russell Wilson was never the same after leaving Seattle

As happy as Seattle was with the trade, the Broncos weren’t thrilled with the results. Wilson wasn’t the same player in Denver and they went 11-19 in two seasons with Wilson as the starter.

He then spent one season with the Pittsburgh Steelers before signing with the New York Giants in 2026. Following an 0-3 start with the Giants, Wilson was benched in favor of rookie Jaxson Dart and recently announced his retirement from the NFL.

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Call it labor unrest summer? Unionized journalists across the Northwest at McClatchy Media went on a one-day strike over AI policy, union employees at acclaimed restaurant the Walrus and the Carpenter are willing to strike, and today unionized hotel workers at the Hilton’s Embassy Suites in Pioneer Square are voting to authorize a strike. The union is collecting votes until 6 p.m. this evening.

The contract between management and the 113 unionized Embassy Suites employees expired on May 31. Today, workers—represented by Unite Here Local 8, a hospitality union—are expected to vote to authorize a work stoppage, and give leadership the ability to call a strike at any time. Seattle’s World Cup games kick off at Lumen Field in less than two weeks, steps away from Embassy Suites. 

The main issues at play are health insurance, pay—Hilton’s current offer amounts to a less than $1 per hour raise on average over the next five years—and a proposal, so far rejected by Hilton, that management tell employees when ICE or DHS is on the property. 

“As a brown woman, I know ICE does not care whether you are a US citizen,” Dom Kaur, a front desk agent, said in a press release. “What they are doing goes against my core moral beliefs. My dad needed asylum and as a lawyer now helps others. It is wrong for our bosses to sit there and say they cannot do anything about it.” 

ICE concerns are heightened because the agency may be on hand at Lumen during the World Cup. A majority of the staff are people of color or immigrants, says Victoria Davidson, a public area attendant at Embassy Suites. “ICE will have a presence because of FIFA, and it’s not OK for people to be afraid to come to work,” Davidson says.

Hilton did not respond before press time. An automatic email from the US press office said that it was “currently closed” on Friday afternoon.

If the union strikes, Davidson anticipates that managers would initially do the jobs of unionized workers, and then Hilton would turn to temp staffing agencies to recruit scabs. Even though the hotel would remain open, the union believes that a strike during the World Cup would cause enough problems for hotel operations that workers have a lot of leverage at this moment. 

“This is not going to happen again for at least 25 to 30 years,” Davidson says of the World Cup matches, “and we’re the only hotel that’s right here.” 

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