Russell Wilson is currently in his 10th NFL season, and as the 32-year-old recently revealed, he’d like to tack an extra 10-plus years onto that.
“I knew I was wildly crazy about the game, but I’m ridiculously obsessed with it,” Wilson told The Associated Press for an upcoming appearance on the “AP Pro Football Podcast.” “That’s why I want to play 20-plus years.”
Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady is currently in his 22nd season, his second in Tampa Bay, while former Saints quarterback Drew Brees called it a career in March after 20 seasons. He had previously played for the Chargers.
Wilson, meanwhile, has spent his entire career with the Seahawks, who drafted him 75th overall in 2012. While Seattle (3-6) has struggled this season, with Wilson also recovering from a finger injury, the quarterback understands that there’s more to the game than what transpires on the field.
“I think the other part that you learn about yourself is to have patience. At the same time, you have to have drive. I think that’s such a critical part. The third thing is [having] unrelenting confidence,” Wilson said. “You don’t want to mistake that with arrogance. It’s strictly confidence in what you do and how you do it and you’ve done it before, and we’ll do it again and with great faith, all things are possible, and that’s really what’s been very evident to me in my journey.”
Once Wilson does decide to hang up his cleats, he has his sights set on the possibility of one day owning an NFL franchise.
“I definitely want to play for a long time, but I think once I’m done, I’d love to own an NFL football team and to be able to impact a city, a country and just bring people to the game of football,” he said.
Currently a minority owner of Seattle Sounders FC, a Major League Soccer club, Wilson said he is “very big into the business side of things and just sports in general.”
“I love winning. I love the process of winning,” Wilson added. “So hopefully I can bring that culture to a team and organization.”
For now, Wilson is likely focused on Seattle bouncing back after a shutout loss to the Packers (8-2) last weekend in Green Bay. The Seahawks will face the Cardinals (8-2) in a divisional game Sunday afternoon at home.