Former Wisconsin QB Russell Wilson lands in his new NFL home with surprising deal

The NFL free agency has provided no end to the twists and turns, and one of the big veteran quarterbacks on the market is former Wisconsin Badger Russell Wilson. Wilson won the Super Bowl back with the Seattle Seahawks but has bounced around since then. Depending on his location and play-caller, he has been either the Pro-Bowl caliber we are used to seeing from the veteran or struggling.

Wilson now has a new home with the New York Giants, a team that has been courting him for a few weeks.

Russell Wilson has signed a big one-year contract with the New York Giants

The Giants are desperate for a quarterback to lead them back to the playoffs and eventually back to the Super Bowl. They've had a good run of poor coaching and poor QB play. Russell is a known commodity that can help fill that void. He's going to give the Giants the veteran presence that they need, and it works on a "prove-it" deal for Wilson.

The surprising part of the deal is how much he was able to get into his contract. It's a backloaded $21 million deal with a bunch of incentives worked in. That part isn't all that surprising, considering "prove-it" deals are often loaded with those. The guarantee for Wilson is set at $10.5 million. That's a great grab for Wilson, and the fact that he can essentially double his money with good play is huge for him.

Wilson spent one year as a Badger after transferring from NC State. His one year, though, was electric. He completed 225 passes for 3.175 yards and 33 touchdowns. He also ran 79 times for 338 yards and six touchdowns. He was undersized, so he went in the third round to the Seattle Seahawks, but he was able to prove that he belonged and eventually led them to a Super Bowl victory.