ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) — Russell Wilson's five-year, $245 million extension includes a $50 million singing bonus, $77 million in the first eight months and a whopping $165 million in guarantees — all before he takes his first snap for the Denver Broncos.

Wilson left money on the table, however, declining to reset the NFL's stratospheric quarterback market.

“For me, it wasn’t really about how much, necessarily,” Wilson said Thursday. "It was about how many — how many Super Bowls we win. And that was really the focus.”

Wilson didn't want to handicap general manager George Paton as he builds his roster around him. So, he took $49 million on average in new money, $1 million less than Aaron Rodgers did with his four-year, $200 million deal earlier this year to stay in Green Bay.

In terms of the all-important guaranteed portion of his contract, Wilson comes in with the third-most lucrative deal in the NFL, behind Deshaun Waton's fully guaranteed $230 million deal with Cleveland and the $189.5 million in guarantees that Kyler Murray received in his five-year, $230.5 million deal with Arizona.

Wilson's decision to take less will presumably affect Lamar Jackson's negotiations with the Baltimore Ravens on a contract extension and could have ripple effects when rising stars Justin Herbert and Joe Burrow come up for new deals in the years ahead.

“I had such an amazing first decade of my career, and the next decade I’m really excited about,” Wilson said. “To me, what it was really about was being able to win championships and being able to have enough space in the salary cap so George can make his magic ...

“We want to make this a destination location. We have an amazing tradition, amazing football team, we have a lot of amazing new faces” in the owner's suites and front office. “These are world class visionaries and world class executors and winners. At the end of the day, you want to be surrounded by that. And what’s important, too, is making sure you surround yourself with amazing players.”

The extension keeps Wilson, 33, under contract in Denver through the 2028 season for $296 million. It's the biggest contract in Broncos history and one of the largest ever in the NFL.

Wilson’s new deal comes three weeks after the league approved the $4.65 billion sale of the team to the Walton-Penner ownership group that represented the largest amount ever paid for a professional sports franchise anywhere in the world.

Led by Walmart heir Rob Walton, his daughter, Carrie Walton Penner, and son-in-law Greg Penner, it’s by far the wealthiest ownership group in the NFL.

“I've worked closely on this over the last three weeks,” Paton said. “And Greg rolled up his sleeves and he was a big help: his support, his communication, his responsiveness and, of course, the resources were instrumental into us getting this deal done.”

Penner called Wilson "a dynamic leader whose positive impact is felt throughout our entire team and community. Our organization is fully committed to winning and competing for Super Bowls with Russell as a Bronco for many years to come.”

Wilson had two years and $51 million left on his deal when the Broncos acquired him from Seattle for five draft picks and three players in a franchise-changing trade six months ago. That $51 million has been restructured.

Penner said last month that Paton's trade for Wilson in the spring made the Broncos an even more attractive asset.

“It’s critical to have a great quarterback in this league and coming in this organization with Russell in place is a tremendous benefit for us," Penner said.

“On our first diligence trip in May here, one of the first people we ran into the hallway when Rob, Carrie and I were here was Russell,” Penner added. “Right away, we got a sense of how positive he is as a leader. He is just such a dynamic individual. I can’t wait to see him on the field.”

Wilson will make his Denver debut on Sept. 12 when the Broncos open the season at Seattle, where Wilson played for a decade, leading the Seahawks to two Super Bowl appearances and one championship.

Wilson's 113 victories, including one in Super Bowl 48 over the Broncos, are the most for a quarterback in his first 10 NFL seasons. He's made the Pro Bowl eight times and he missed the playoffs just twice in his first decade in the league.

Star safety Justin Simmons said when he heard of Wilson's new deal, “the first thing I thought of was: well deserved. He's a proven quarterback in this league, a Hall of Famer, and I'm happy for him — he'll have to take me to dinner or something, a very expensive one.”

Brett Rypien surprise winner as Russell Wilson's backup

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) — When Denver Broncos coach Nathaniel Hackett texted Brett Rypien on cutdown day asking him to drop by the team's facilities, the former Boise State star had a sinking feeling that he'd been cut coming out of camp again.

“That’s never a good sign, so I wasn’t too optimistic about the whole situation,” Rypien said Wednesday.

The news wasn't what Rypien or many others expected, however: Hackett told him he had beaten out veteran Josh Johnson to serve as Russell Wilson's primary backup.

“Pretty emotional moment for me,” said Rypien, who was the Broncos’ No. 3 QB last season behind Teddy Bridgewater and Drew Lock and never got into a regular-season game.

Rypien appeared headed for the practice squad again when Johnson took most of the snaps behind Wilson in training camp and played well in the preseason.

“I think Josh is probably somewhat disappointed,” Rypien said. “And I think he has a right to be. I think he had a great camp. He played really well. From my standpoint, I'm obviously excited that it went my way this year. But I know I've got to keep working hard.”

Asked what he thinks tipped things in his favor, Rypien said, “I don’t know. I think I tried to show consistency. And, you know, being the same guy every single day coming out with an attitude and a focus to get better. And ultimately, I think I did that.”

That's exactly what won him the job, Hackett said.

“It was a very hard decision for all of us, for our entire staff,” Hackett said. “So much respect for Josh and ‘Ryp.’ I think that just from a consistency standpoint, ‘Ryp’ edged him out just a little bit.

"But it doesn’t say that we wouldn’t be absolutely ecstatic to have Josh go in for a game if we needed to. So, it was definitely a very close competition.”

Rypien has played in four NFL games, including one start, for the Broncos over the last three seasons.

A lot has been made of Hackett's approach to training camp, which included sitting most of his starters, especially Wilson, for the entire preseason.

For Rypien, it was a godsend.

“It was awesome. You know, really I felt like this was my first true preseason of getting a lot of action,” he said. "In 2020, we didn’t have one and then last year you know, I came in the fourth quarter and I think really only had like one drop-back pass on first and second down the entire preseason.

“So, for me, I wanted to go out there and showcase what I do best and that’s be a drop-back passer and be a pocket passer and I was able to do that. I was able to get a lot of great reps.”

Notes: WR Tyrie Cleveland, who missed most of camp with a throat injury, returned to practice Wednesday as did OL Billy Turner (knee) and OLB Randy Gregory (shoulder surgery). ... Troy Aikman, who will broadcast the Broncos' opener at Seattle on “Monday Night Football,” said he was impressed with WR K.J. Hamler's play against the Vikings in the preseason finale, his first game action since undergoing hip and knee surgeries. Hackett concurred: “He's very fearless," Hackett said.