Zack Wheeler cashes in; Russell Wilson released; Jason Kelce says goodbye

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💰 Good morning to everyone but especially ...

ZACK WHEELER AND THE PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES

The top of the Phillies' rotation isn't going anywhere. Zack Wheeler agreed to a three-year, $126-million extension that begins next season, after his current contract expires.

At $42 million per year, it's the largest extension in MLB history in average annual value. Overall, it's the fourth-highest AAV of any contract, only behind Shohei Ohtani ($46M) and Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander ($43.3M).
Wheeler, 33, is 43-25 with a 3.06 ERA in four years with Philadelphia. He has received Cy Young votes in three of those four seasons -- including a second-place finish in 2021 -- one All-Star nod and one Gold Glove.
Over the last three seasons, Wheeler ranks top-five MLB-wide in wins (39), quality starts (57) and innings pitched (558 1/3). He's also sixth in strikeouts (622).
Right ahead of him in strikeouts is teammate Aaron Nola, who signed a seven-year, $172-million deal with the Phillies in November.

Wheeler's extension has ripple effects on the 2025 free agent class. R.J. Anderson had him listed as the fourth-best player (and second-best pitcher) set to become available, behind Juan Soto, Alex Bregman and Corbin Burnes. Now R.J. says the second-best pitcher in the class is ...

Anderson: "Max Fried, LHP, Braves -- He has a chance to be a polarizing free agent based on his workloads. He's averaged more than six frames per pop just once, giving him a single season with more than 170 innings to his name. Still, there's no denying Fried's effectiveness -- and besides, that's where the game is headed anyway, so is it fair to penalize a pitcher for serving as the blueprint? Based on Blake Snell's winter, we suppose fairness isn't part of the equation with matters of money."

👍 Honorable mentions

Wrapping up the NFL Combine, we have winners and losers, surprise standouts (and if they're actually good at football), what we learned about every team and Ryan Wilson's updated post-combine mock.
Dak Prescott is "definitely confident" he'll sign an extension with the Cowboys.
Mike Evans is staying with the Buccaneers on a two-year, $52-million deal. The wide receiver free agent class thins even more, notes Garrett Podell.
The Chiefs franchise-tagged L'Jarius Sneed, and a trade remains possible.
Christian Wilkins will hit free agency.
The Patriots are expected to pursue Tyron Smith.
The Bills traded Ryan Bates to the Bears.
Mike Trout is staying loyal to the Angels.
Interest in Snell and Jordan Montgomery is increasing.
Kelly Olynyk and the Raptors agreed to a two-year extension.
Here's the latest men's AP Top 25, men's Coaches Poll and women's AP Top 25.
LeBron James, Drake and Chris Pratt are investing in PGA Enterprises.
Austin Eckroat won the Cognizant Classic, his first career PGA Tour title.
Josh Donaldson called it a career.

😕 And not such a good morning for ...

RUSSELL WILSON AND THE DENVER BRONCOS

Broncos Country, let's sigh.

Russell Wilson will be released after the 2024 league year begins March 13, a stunning downfall just a year and a half after he signed a five-year, $245-million extension before playing a down in the Mile High City.

The move comes with a record $85 million dead cap hit. It's more than the previous two highest numbers (Matt Ryan's $40.5 million and Aaron Rodgers' $40.3 million) combined. The Broncos will likely split that $85 million over two seasons by designating Wilson as a post-June 1 cut, but it's still not pretty.

"Not pretty" is also the nicest way to describe Wilson's time in Denver. The trade itself -- which sent the Seahawks two first-round picks, two second-round picks, a fifth-round pick and three players -- turned out poorly, but that was the going rate for a perceived franchise quarterback. We gave Denver high marks in our trade grades way, way back -- in 2022.

But the haphazard, unnecessary extension makes it look much worse, and the ensuing 18 months were an abject disaster, though it wasn't all Wilson's fault. A quick rundown:

In 2022, first-year head coach Nathaniel Hackett was at the helm, and he was awful from quite literally his first game until his last, roughly three months later: He was fired after just 15 games.
Wilson struggled, too. Outside his on-field issues, he used old Seahawks audibles per one former NFL vet and reportedly had his own office at the team facility. It was downright weird.
The Broncos hired Sean Payton for 2023, an interesting fit considering he and Drew Brees thrived in an on-time passing attack and Wilson thrives on off-schedule plays. Payton attacked the organization for giving Wilson special treatment, suggested Wilson should wear a wristband just weeks into the 2023 season and benched him by Week 17.
Even the benching was a disaster. Wilson said the Broncos threatened to bench him if he didn't change his contract weeks earlier. Teammates said the benching surprised them. Connecting the dots, the Broncos needed to keep Wilson healthy so they could release him, hence the benching -- though GM George Paton denied that. The NFLPA reportedly believes Denver mistreated Wilson.

So ... yeah. Not great! Wilson was better under Payton -- the surface-level numbers were solid -- but not exactly good. He ranked 25th in expected points added per dropback, a measure of overall effectiveness. He's no longer the scrambler he once was (he ranked 27th in sack rate), and he's no longer a big-play maker (24th in explosive plays per dropback).

But Wilson, 35, will have a market, and Jordan Dajani has potential landing spots for a fascinating free agent.

👎 Not so honorable mentions

Donovan Mitchell will miss the Cavaliers' next three games after a knee injection.
Russell Westbrook had surgery on his fractured left hand.
Ben Simmons' agent is taking the blame for his client's injuries.
No. 8 Marquette star Tyler Kolek (oblique) will miss the final two regular-season games.
The Thunder are one of five teams in need of a uniform makeover, Jasmyn Wimbish says.
Devin Booker is going to out 7-10 days with a sprained ankle.
Speaking of the Suns, Jusuf Nurkic and Frank Vogel ripped the officiating from Sunday's loss to OKC.
Kevin Gausman (shoulder) is the latest Blue Jays starter dealing with an injury.

🏈 Jason Kelce retires: Greatest moments and where he ranks all-time

For a man who has brought so much joy to so many people -- and to football as a whole -- Jason Kelce's Monday was full of tears. And for good reason. The legendary Eagles center retired after 13 seasons, all with Philadelphia.

Kelce, a 2011 sixth-round pick, made seven Pro Bowls and six All-Pro first teams and was part of the franchise's only Super Bowl triumph. Before that, he walked on at Cincinnati as a linebacker and moved to center thanks to a coaching change. It's a truly remarkable journey.

It's so difficult to quantify center play, which is first and foremost starting every play but requires so, so much more than that. Kelce did it as well as anyone, stacking up strongly against other all-time greats, Jeff Kerr writes.

But it's the joy Kelce exuded on and off the field that set him apart to me: the iconic Super Bowl parade speech in a Mummers suit, the shirtless celebration of his brother Travis ... the list goes on and on.

He was always, always himself, and in an era where that's increasingly rare, the NFL will miss him dearly. The social media tributes poured in accordingly.

No one will miss him more than the Eagles, though, and Jeff details the voids left on the field, in the locker room and everywhere else.

⚽ UEFA Champions League round-of-16 second legs begin

The UEFA Champions League is back, and by the end of the day, we'll have two teams into the quarterfinals. Here's today's slate, on CBS and Paramount+:

Bayern Munich vs. Lazio (Lazio leads 1-0) (preview)
Real Sociedad vs. PSG (PSG leads 2-0) (preview)

It may sound dramatic, but Bayern Munich are in shambles with one win over their last five matches, including the 1-0 first-leg loss to Lazio. Francesco Porzio explains why the Italians can repeat that result.

Porzio: "Lazio get Mattia Zaccagni back in the squad ... The former Verona winger can become a big factor, especially for the counterattacks, and Lazio desperately need him after two disappointing Serie A defeats against Fiorentina and AC Milan. Zaccagni is that kind of player who can bring quality to this team."

Here's more:

📺 What we're watching Tuesday

⚽ Bayern Munich vs. Lazio, 3 p.m. on CBS and Paramount+
⚽ Real Sociedad-PSG, 3 p.m. on Paramount+
🏀 No. 3 Purdue at No. 12 Illinois (M), 7 p.m. on Peacock
🏀 No. 16 Alabama at Florida (M), 7 p.m. on ESPN
🏀 Celtics at Cavaliers, 7:30 p.m. on TNT
🏀 Kansas State at No. 14 Kansas (M), 9 p.m. on ESPN
🏀 Suns at Nuggets, 10 p.m. on TNT
🏀 No. 21 San Diego State at UNLV (M), 11 p.m. on CBS Sports Network
🏀 Nevada at Boise State (M), 11 p.m. on FS1