Russell Wilson and the Seattle Seahawks are quite possibly the most stable franchise in the NFC. Since his rookie season, Wilson has led the team to five straight postseason appearances, two Super Bowls and one championship. The team’s relentless defense, and Wilson’s versatility on offense, is a signature of their dominance.
It’s just hard to play against the Seahawks, especially in Seattle. And even in one of the weirdest NFL seasons in recent memory, where it seems there are few good teams and even fewer elite ones, the Seahawks remain the best of the NFC West. But off the field, Wilson is one of football’s most interesting athletes. He’s good at talking about sponsors, parsing the relationship between a community and the sports teams it roots for and even what makes Pete Carroll the perfect coach for the Seahawks.
Wilson spoke with Uproxx during the team’s bye week to discuss playing quarterback, fake mustaches, and what makes playing for the Seahawks special.
What’s this season been like for you so far? I know it’s still early, but at this point most teams know what they have and their chances at making the postseason. How are you feeling?
You always want to elevate week to week. You want to keep building and growing, and that’s what we’re doing right now. We’re fortunate to be in first place in the NFC West right now, which is a big deal. And we had the bye week this week but we’re a really tight-knit group. Our whole team is close. And we’re excited about the rest of the season and getting ready to roll.
The reality is that you always want to get to December with a chance. A chance to go to the playoffs and from there go win. So we’ve been fortunate the past five years, you know, we’ve won a lot of of football games. And we’ve been able to play in two Super Bowls and win one. And go to the playoffs every single year. So it’s a lot of hard work to do that. But we know that journey. We know what it takes to get there. So we’re in the process of that right now.
Every franchise is different. And when I talk to NFL guys they say it’s tough to know how other franchises operate or how things work internally. But what do you think makes the Seahawks special or different from other teams?
I think coach Carrol and our players. The culture that we have here. It’s a special city, first of all. Special fans. I always say that you have to put it on the bucket list, you know? If you’re going to see a football game anywhere in the world it’s the one place that you have to go see. At CenturyLink. The fans are just unbelievable.
And in terms of the players, we’re super dedicated. We’re passionate about our team. We play 100 percent every play no matter what the circumstances. And we also do a lot of stuff in the community, which is really special. That’s why we connect to our fans so well.
The last thing is, one of the most significant things that separates us is our coach and our coaching staff. I think that coach Carroll and the staff, they really are passionate about us as players. He’s such a great players’ coach. He really cares about the players and our lives and growing as men and also football players.
It’s been a season that’s been full of controversy, with a lot of outside forces at play there. The Seahawks had a really unique response to the kneeling controversy, both with a strong statement condemning Trump’s words and later setting up a community fund. How did you decide as a team the way forward there?
I think all of us players we really care about loving people and showing empathy and trying to do stuff in the community. And that’s our real, true focus. That is the focus of what we should be trying to do as a society.
I think that, as players, the Seahawks and everyone else. That’s what we’re dedicated to. And we started a players’ fund to help donate to supporting situations and scenarios to people around the country. It’s been really, really special and we’ve been really passionate for doing something special for our community. But it really comes down to love.
Going to Seahawks games has been described as a college football-like atmosphere. But Washington has had a pretty good football season as well. Does it amplify things in Seattle when both teams are playing well?
Oh yeah. It’s so much fun in Seattle right now. It’s the best city in the world, honestly. Absolutely beautiful there. And it’s home for us. But seeing the two football teams at a high level, it’s exciting. The energy around football has been really cool.
Also, for my fans and stuff I kind of give them a behind the scenes look at our world in Seattle and when we travel with this new app, called TraceMe. It’s not just for me but for other celebrities and entertainers on there as well. It’s me on there right now but other people are coming onto the app as well so it’s really exciting. But it’s been really amazing to share those kind of experiences and my journey, too. Like the Braun experience and where we like to eat. It’s kind of an inside look at our world.
You were on Washington’s campus with Braun a few to film something. What did you do with them there?
I got to hook up with Braun to go undercover as security on the campus of the University of Washington, which is right down the street for us. We went down there and had a good old time with campus security and it was pretty funny. I put a huge old mustache on and we were giving out students on campus style and grooming tips for their first semester back at school I pulled out a few violators, we called it When you see the video it’s pretty funny. But the idea was anyone that had a long, hairy beard: we wanted to make sure they were cleaned up for their next date.
What was it like going back on a college campus and talking with kids there?
We had a really, really nice time. They were all freaking out. It was just a good time to be around the kids at the University. It’s such a good school.
I do believe the way you present yourself does play a role in achieving the success you want to achieve. It’s really a mindset. That’s why I use Braun. I’ve been with Braun for a few years now and it’s been exciting to work with such a great brand.
What’s the weirdest facial hair you’ve done? Have you tried a real mustache?
I’ve definitely grown some facial hair. I’ve gotten a couple bad haircuts. But I try to stay away from them as much as I can. I’m pretty particular as far as my hair and my facial hair and stuff like that. I’m all in on shaving. I like to feel young and fresh. And in terms of my hair, I’m always making sure that it’s ready to go and groomed up. You can’t be having any bad hair days.
That’s got to be difficult when you’re wearing a helmet though, right? It’s not like soccer, where guys go in at the half and they come out and their hair is perfect.
Yeah, it is. The thing about basketball and soccer players is they always have their hair groomed. They’re styling and profiling on game days. But for us, it’s one of those things where your head’s always under your helmet. I’m very fortunate just to be able to, you know, show my face a little bit more. So the haircut and the grooming still comes out every once in a while.
You’re one of the few quarterbacks who came in as a rookie and immediately found success. But many other guys, they come in an there’s a huge amount of pressure on them to achieve right away. Do you think it’s unfair in a lot of cases to expect players to step in so early and thrive?
It’s very steep, the learning curve. It’s one of the hardest things to do athletically, to play quarterback in the National Football League. I always think that: I thank god every day that I’m one of the 32 people that get to do what I do.
It’s a very very difficult thing, and there’s a lot of pressure, especially on a young quarterback. But I think more than anything it always comes down to the preparation. I always say that: the separation is in the preparation. That’s the biggest thing.
Is there something you can learn from studying other quarterbacks or is each offense or quarterback so different that it’s really a case-by-case basis?
It’s tough every week and every game you play and every scenario is different. That’s why it makes it so difficult to win in the National Football League. We’ve won a lot, but we’ve also prepared a lot. Like I said, it comes down to the preparation.
