WASHINGTON, DC - MAY 21: linesman Ryan Gibbons #58 escorts Tom Wilson #43 of the Washington Capitals to the bench in the first period of Game Six of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Tampa Bay Lightning during the 2018 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Capital One Arena on May 21, 2018 in Washington, DC.

Tom Wilson's big payday leaves Twitter dumbfounded

8 years ago

Rob Carr / Getty Images Sport / Getty

Tom Wilson got paid on Friday, and Twitter users can't wrap their heads around it.

The imposing, physical, reckless forward received a six-year contract with an average annual value of $5.17 million, in the same neighborhood as the deals for recent restricted free-agent signees Jason Zucker, Elias Lindholm, Tomas Hertl, and J.T. Miller.

Wilson is coming off a career-high 35-point campaign - a low total for a forward making north of $5 million per year for the next six seasons. Of course, Twitter is up in arms.

I figured Tom Wilson was going to bank. Four years, maybe as high as 3.5M per. I was so wrong. He actually robbed the bank.
— Eric Engels (@EricEngels) July 28, 2018

The universal opinion of the thousands of people I follow is that that Tom Wilson contract is atrocious and guess what! you're all right!
— Micah Blake McCurdy (@IneffectiveMath) July 28, 2018

Has a forward who has never had a 40-point season ever gotten $5-million AAV? I'm verklempt.
— James Mirtle (@mirtle) July 28, 2018

That’s a lot of money and term for a guy who had career numbers this year with 35 points!! If you feel that you absolutely have to pay him $5M+ you can’t go more than 4 years. Or 6 years at $3.5M is tops for me. They gave him $10M to much either way in my opinion. https://t.co/hOrLsQBpah
— Martin Biron (@martybiron43) July 28, 2018

When you break from a quiet Friday to see how much Tom Wilson just got paid. pic.twitter.com/cO3DWKVlzc
— Eric Stephens (@icemancometh) July 28, 2018

I still can't figure out if it's dumber that the #Caps gave Tom Wilson SIX years or $5.1 million per. What in the world are they thinking?
— Mike Harrington (@ByMHarrington) July 28, 2018

The only thing missing from Tom Wilson's contract announcement is a projected buyout date.
— Adam Proteau (@Proteautype) July 28, 2018

Some people couldn't help but poke fun at Wilson's style of play, which has led to frequent run-ins with the NHL Department of Player Safety.

Somehow, Tom Wilson’s worst hit ever is his cap hit https://t.co/fI1imdsiPm
— Pete Blackburn (@PeteBlackburn) July 28, 2018

The maximum allowable fine under the current CBA is $15k. That means that Tom Wilson can now afford 2068 of those bad boys over the next 6 years while still breaking even.
— Dimitri Filipovic (@DimFilipovic) July 28, 2018