Russell Wilson is set to be released by the Denver Broncos later this month – which NFL fans believe will cap the worst trade in the history of the sport.

The Broncos announced on Monday that they are officially moving on from Wilson, who has endured a miserable two-year stint in Denver after joining from the Seattle Seahawks in 2022.

After initially enduring the worst season of his career under Nathaniel Hackett, in which he went 4-11, the Super Bowl-winning quarterback bounced back under Sean Payton last season.

Yet in the end his resurgence still wasn’t good enough as the Broncos fell 7-8, with Payton eventually benching him for their final two games.

And to make matters worse for the franchise, they also handed Wilson a five-year, $250million contract extension before he had played a single down in Denver six months after his move from Seattle.

NFL fans believe Russell Wilson’s trade to the Denver Broncos is the worst in history

Wilson is set to be released by the Broncos later this month after a miserable two-year stint

The departing quarterback paid tribute to Denver in a farewell message on social media

The divorce will therefore be a costly one for the Broncos, who still owe Wilson his $39m salary for 2024 minus whatever he’d sign for with another team, which would likely be the veteran’s minimum salary of $1.21 million.

They will also take a record $89m hit in dead cap charges over the next two seasons, which will crimp their roster building as they seek to end an eight-year playoff drought that’s featured six head coaches and 13 starting quarterbacks.

Wilson’s release completes a disastrous miscalculation for Denver officials – and fans are convinced both his trade from Seattle and his quarter-billion dollar extension are the worst in NFL history.

One wrote on X: ‘Russell Wilson was so bad that the Broncos are willing to eat $85M in dead cap. Think about that. It’s the worst contract in the history of the NFL.’

‘That Russell Wilson contract will go down as one of the worst of all time,’ stated another.

A third put: ‘It’s mind-blowing that Russell Wilson is getting cut the second his $245m extension kicks in. Whatever about the trade, that’s one of the worst contracts that’s ever been done in NFL history

A fourth gave a slightly different take: ‘russell wilson trade isn’t the worst trade in nfl history – the russell wilson extension tho that’s something we can discuss as the worst’.

Fans believe Wilson’s trade and extension in Denver represent the worst in NFL history

While one simply insisted: ‘The Russell Wilson trade is the worst trade in the history of the NFL, and there isn’t another one that comes close to it. Argue with a wall on that one.’

Although he had maintained a Wilson return was possible, Payton hinted at an impending split at the NFL scouting combine last week when talking about Denver’s long string of middling quarterbacks and suggested his job was to make sure ‘the next one’ was the right QB to lead the Broncos back into contention.

Wilson, who had gone radio silent on social media at Payton’s request a year ago, recently resumed sharing videos of his workouts and over the weekend he removed all Broncos references from his profile on X.

Following the news of his release, he wrote in a post online: ‘Over these last two years, you have welcomed my family and me with open arms and have embraced us as members of the Denver community,’ Wilson said shortly after the news broke.

‘This city will always hold a special place in my heart. Our family grew here, we made countless memories and friendships, and formed relationships that will last a lifetime.

Wilson put pen to paper on a five-year, $245m contract extension only 19 months ago

‘To my teammates, thank you for going to battle together and for being there through it all.

‘There are so many moments I cherish because of you and I am blessed for the impact you have made on my life. I am beyond grateful for all of you and to have been able to run out as your teammate was an honor.

‘[…] I’ll never forget Wendy & Brandy in the cafeteria! Daily bringing the good food, but the even better jams! Thank you for always being uplifting.’