Russell Wilson and Ciara pose at Vanity Fair Oscars party as it emerges they are moving to Pittsburgh, with QB joining the Steelers after $242m Denver nightmare – despite New York Giants holding last minute talks

As Russell Wilson confirmed his reported contract with the Pittsburgh Steelers, he and his singer-actress wife Ciara hit the red carpet at the Vanity Fair Oscars Party on Sunday in Los Angeles.

The soiree at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts in Beverly Hills also included other Hollywood stars such as Chrissy Teigen, Kerry Washington and Donald Glover, but Wilson was possibly the most newsworthy attendee on Sunday night.

It was just hours earlier that multiple reports surfaced that the former Super Bowl winner would sign a one-year deal with the Steelers after being cut by the Broncos, who will pay the remainder of his $37.8 million salary. while playing for Pittsburgh.

Wilson then apparently confirmed the reports by posting a montage on social media of black-and-gold-clad Steelers fans waving the ‘terrible towel’ in the Acrisure Stadium stands.

Instead of black and gold, Wilson donned a white suit with a white shirt and sunglasses, while Ciara wore a slightly sheer dress.

For Wilson, the one-year deal with Pittsburgh is a huge opportunity after his ugly exit in Denver. Other teams were reportedly interested in adding the former Seahawks star, and he even met with the New York Giants before signing with the Steelers, according to CBS Sports.

But for Pittsburgh, the risk of signing Wilson was relatively minimal.

By cutting Wilson two years after he signed a five-year, $245 million extension, the Broncos are shouldering the financial burden. And although Steelers general manager Omar Khan expressed ‘full faith’ in quarterback Kenny Pickett less than two weeks ago, the 35-year-old Wilson is widely expected to start for head coach Mike Tomlin’s team.

“Russell Wilson isn’t going anywhere because he doesn’t think he’s not going to be the starter,” ESPN’s Adam Schefter said Sunday.

Double negative aside, Schefter indicated that Wilson will resume his status as a starting NFL quarterback after being benched in Denver last year.

Wilson was 11-19 in two seasons with the Broncos after being acquired in a trade from Seattle. He bounced back from a terrible 2022 season, throwing for 3,070 yards, 26 touchdowns and just eight interceptions, but still lost his job to Jarrett Stidham after going 7-8 in coach Sean Payton’s first season last year.

Perhaps because of his poor play in Denver, Wilson’s arrival has had no impact on the Steelers’ Super Bowl hopes. Before his arrival, the Draft Kings had the Steelers as a +7500 longshot to win the Super Bowl, and that number remained the same after Wilsons agreed to join Pittsburgh.

On former NFL receiver Brandon Marshall’s podcast last month, Wilson repeated his claim that the Broncos threatened to bench him midseason if he didn’t adjust an injury guarantee in his contract — something the team has called a mischaracterization.

Wilson declined to remove the injury guarantee from the roughly $245 million contract he had signed about a year earlier and ended up starting seven more games before Payton benched him for Stidham.

The divorce is expensive for the Broncos, though. They still owe Wilson his $39 million salary for 2024, the veteran’s minimum salary of $1.21 million he will get from Pittsburgh.

The Broncos will also take a record $89 million hit in dead cap charges over the next two seasons, shrinking their roster as they try to end an eight-year playoff drought that has featured six head coaches and 13 starters quarterbacks since Peyton Manning retired a month after the franchise’s third Super Bowl title.

As for Wilson and Ciara, the couple recently welcomed their third child together: Amora Princess Wilson.

As well as Ciara’s eldest son from a previous relationship, nine-year-old Future Zahir, the couple also have six-year-old Sienna Princess and three-year-old son Win Harrison.