Russell Carrington Wilson was born November 29, 1988 in Cincinnati, Ohio, but he grew up in Richmond Virginia. Wilson started playing football with his father and brother at the age of four, and played his first organized game for the Tuckahoe Tomahawks youth football team in sixth grade. Wilson’s father played football and baseball at Dartmouth and was a wide receiver for the San Diego Chargers preseason squad in 1980. Wilson attended Collegiate School for high school, in Richmond, Virginia. Wilson graduated from Wisconsin NC State, but he played college football for the University of Wisconsin during the 2011 season. After graduating from high school, Wilson was selected by the Baltimore Orioles with the fifth pick in the 41st round (1,222nd overall) of the 2007 MLB draft. Russell currently plays professional football (NFL) for the Seattle Seahawks and has been playing for them since 2012.
In 2014, Wilson led the Seattle Seahawks to their very first victory in Super Bowl and received the PFWA Good Guy Award. Wilson has won more games (65) than any other NFL quarterback in his first six seasons. On July 31, 2015, Wilson signed a four-year, $87.6 million contract extension with the Seahawks, making him, at the time, the second highest paid player in the NFL. Wilson has many endorsements and has appeared in many advertisements, such as Nike, Microsoft and Pepsi. Wilson is an active volunteer in the Seattle community and he makes weekly visits on his days off to the Seattle Children’s Hospital.
