-
Jeff Legwold
Multiple Authors
INDIANAPOLIS — The Denver Broncos’ decision-makers arrived at the NFL combine knowing their current roster is close to championship level. The team finished just one win from the Super Bowl last season. And Denver is now poised to enter the offseason completely free of the record $85 million in dead money charges that resulted from the release of quarterback Russell Wilson in March 2024.
“If I said, ‘I’m going [to] give you $50,000 to decorate your home or $200,000,’ your home’s going to look nicer. … If you’re a decent shopper, if you have more money,” Broncos coach Sean Payton said. “I think the same takes place with our sport.”
But that doesn’t necessarily mean that the Broncos will jump into the offseason expecting their suddenly substantial checkbook to fix all their issues.
“In terms of free agency … I get a little worried about just the pure phrase of ‘aggressive,’ because you can be aggressive, but you want to do it in a smart way,” owner/CEO Greg Penner said. “… We’ll definitely take an aggressive approach, but we’re also not just going to bring in somebody that’s not right for this locker room.
“I’d say we’ll be opportunistically aggressive.”
Wilson’s release put the Broncos in previously uncharted NFL waters. Denver took $53 million of the ensuing dead money charge in 2024 and $32 million this past season, salary cap bites that couldn’t be used to sign new players or keep some of their own.
That resulted in the Broncos carrying a little more than $89 million in dead money two years ago and a little less than $46 million in dead money last year. They thrived despite those obstacles, ending an eight-year playoff drought in 2024 and then compiling a league-best 14-3 record with an AFC Championship Game appearance in 2025.
The Broncos arrived in Indianapolis this week with a little more than $1 million in dead money. While that figure could rise if they choose to release a veteran or two prior to the opening of the NFL league year on March 11, they enter this offseason with more resources after excelling in adverse situations in the past two years.
“[I’m] proud of the way everyone else handled it, and looked at developing young players and didn’t use it as a built-in excuse,” Payton said. “We evaluate wisely. We draft wisely.”
Part of the Broncos’ evaluation has been the extending and re-signing of their own players. They have re-signed eight former draft picks to high-profile extensions since the summer of 2024, including contracts to cornerback Pat Surtain II and edge rusher Nik Bonitto that each topped $95 million in total value.
They’ve also given second contracts to players who previously signed with the Broncos as outside free agents, such as defensive tackles Zach Allen (for $102 million over four years), D.J. Jones and Malcolm Roach. These re-signings have the Broncos entering the combine with less room under the expected salary cap (projected to be just over $300 million) than they had at this time last season.
Even with the $32 million dead money charge to Wilson, the Broncos had nearly $44 million in salary cap room entering last year’s combine. While they still have two weeks to maneuver before the league year starts, Denver currently has between $26 million and $30 million in cap space.
But the Broncos know the time is now to “push,” as general manager George Paton put it. That’s because they are still in quarterback Bo Nix’s coveted rookie contract window.
Nix is entering the third year of his four-year rookie deal and isn’t eligible to have his fifth-year option picked up (or get a second contract) until next offseason. NFL general managers often say that the most flexibility in constructing a Super Bowl championship team comes when the team’s long-term starting quarterback is still on a rookie deal. Right now, Nix is slated to have the 17th-highest cap hit of Broncos currently under contract for 2026 ($5.076 million). They would still have Nix under his rookie contract in 2027 before either signing him to a long-term extension or picking up his fifth-year option for 2028.
“We’re always going to push it,” Paton said. “All these other teams are pushing it. … We have to make really good decisions. We’re going to be aggressive. Regardless of whose contract is what, I think it’s really important. Now we’re going to be sound and prudent with our decisions.”
The Broncos’ list of needs includes adding more explosiveness to an offense that finished near the bottom of the league in three-and-out percentage (25% of their drives, ranking 29th) and scored seven points in their AFC Championship Game loss to the New England Patriots. Payton has also discussed taking a hard look at the construction of Denver’s run game, and the Broncos have their two inside linebackers (Alex Singleton and Justin Strnad) poised to be unrestricted free agents. An upgrade of the tight end room, which provided only three touchdowns last season, is also on the docket.
But now the search for solutions comes with a slice of financial freedom with Wilson’s deal off the books.
“I love the approach we took, which was none of us were ever going to make any excuses for that,” Penner said. “So, we just looked at it as … ‘We’re going to have to be scrappy, and we’re going to figure it out and put a great product on the field.’ I think that we’ve done that. We’re in a good position now in terms of cap space … that’s exciting.”