Seahawks are a brilliant example of minimum wage

Most of us are familiar with the Seahawks and know a bit about how their organization works.

Now, this year our offensive line wasn’t great. They earn far less money than the guys in the more “skilled” positions, the sexy positions. So a lot of people, including me, had pointed out that the Seahawks should spend some money and not continue to try and get by on the cheap for the offensive line.

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But let’s look at the example of Russell Wilson. When Wilson came into the league he was not expected to set the league on fire. He was not being sought after and he was seen as a long shot. And they got him cheap. They were surprised they got him because they waited in the draft picks for him. This is where the minimum wage comes into play.

Seahawks and wage

Every business has a salary cap, including the NFL, including the Seahawks. It’s the point at which the business owner does not make money. Most of you know this but a lot of people don’t.

The Seahawks paid Wilson the bare minimum. Then something happened; he did really well. But he had signed a contract. They took a chance and it paid off. When his contract came up, the Seahawks renewed it and paid him more because he had proved his worth. But what if, at the start of Wilson’s career, they had to pay Wilson five times as much, or even twice as much. Would they have picked him? No, because the math wouldn’t work; too much money to risk on any unknown quantity.

Coach Pete Carroll said they bring young guys up, develop them and make them part of the program and then as they earn their opportunities they are rewarded as much as the team can. Think of this in regards to companies and the minimum wage.

By setting a high minimum wage, you are pricing out the Russell Wilson’s of their respective business. You are pricing out the young, unproven talent, preventing them from getting a foothold.

All this minimum wage stuff will backfire. The economists may not see it. But you know what you can’t track, the next Russell Wilson.

As always, please listen to the full audio clip for complete context.