'He can be a little corny' - Six stories that explain Denver Broncos QB Russell Wilson

The meeting was supposed to last only 90 minutes.

Instead, Russell Wilson and Mark Rodgers spent four hours together over lunch, the future Super Bowl champion and nine-time Pro Bowler presenting his life plans as his soon-to-be agent listened in amazement.

This was before the 2010 MLB draft, when the new Denver Broncos quarterback was playing football and baseball at NC State. With a dream of pursuing both sports professionally, Wilson wanted to hire a baseball agent who also had experience representing NFL players, as Rodgers had done years earlier.

Ever the buttoned-up professional, the 21-year-old Wilson wore a suit when the two met for the first time at a restaurant in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Their conversation was an early window into how much more there is to Wilson than his Hall of Fame talent and news conference clichés.

«I was fascinated that somebody that young could have so many ideas and have such a clear-path vision for who he wanted to be and what he wanted to be,» Rodgers told ESPN in 2020 for a feature on how Wilson was shaped by his late father, Harrison. «It was extraordinary. It wasn't about football and baseball. It was about a legacy. It was about a foundation. It was about businesses. It was about owning a team some day, an NFL team. It was about building an empire.»

Wilson will begin the second act of his NFL career following his trade from Seattle to Denver. With his Broncos set to open against the Seahawks on Monday Night Football (8:15 p.m. ET, ABC/ESPN/ESPN+), here are stories about who he is and how he got here. — Brady Henderson

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