One extension Denver Broncos fans may be expecting the team to announce in the near future is that of 2021 first-round pick Patrick Surtain II. As one of the top cornerbacks in the NFL, it’s not hard to figure out that the Broncos need to keep him.

One argument for getting Surtain extended sooner than later is that the Broncos can avoid the rising costs in the cornerback market. I have previously discussed, though, that it’s not exactly the case that other cornerbacks have re-set the market.

But another cornerback who entered the final year of his contract got extended in recent weeks. The Atlanta Falcons agreed to a four-year deal with A.J. Terrell, the team’s 2020 first-round pick.

Terrell got a four-year, $81 million deal with $42.344M fully guaranteed upon signing. He got $65.844M in total guarantees and $53.5M in new guarantees.

The new guarantees are important to note because Terrell was due $12.344M in fully guaranteed salary for 2024, after the Falcons exercised the fifth-year option in his rookie deal. Still, the new guarantees matter, along with full and total guarantees, in figuring out how this contract might impact the negotiations for a Surtain extension.

For starters, while Terrell got near the top in APY salary, he didn’t re-set the market in that aspect. His $20.25M APY salary trails that of Jaire Alexander at $21M. It does represent an increase over the APY salary for L’Jarius Sneed at $19.1M.

Also, Terrell’s APY salary exceeds that of Denzel Ward at $20.1M, but did not exceed Ward’s contract in other aspects. Ward got $44.5M in fully guaranteed money and $71.25M in total guarantees.

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In other words, Ward still holds the highest marks for guaranteed money, whether full or total guarantees. Thus, those numbers are still the ones Surtain is poised to surpass.

While APY salary can be useful, and it’s likely Surtain will set a new benchmark for APY salary, that isn’t the mark to beat above all else. Full guarantees, total guarantees and new guarantees matter just as much.

Currently, Surtain is due a little more than $3.5M for 2024 and $19.8M for 2025, the latter coming from the fifth-year option the Broncos picked up. If he were to sign a contract during the season, that guaranteed money will be part of the new deal.

Consequently, Surtain and his agent are certain to seek a significant sum of new guarantees. If we assume Surtain was to sign that deal this season and match Terrell’s $53.5M in new guarantees, Surtain would be looking at $76.8M in total guarantees. That would easily surpass Ward’s total guarantees.

However, it wouldn’t surprise if Surtain and his agent would seek to surpass the new guarantees Terrell got. If Surtain got $55M in new guarantees, that would mean he gets more than $78M in total guarantees.

If the Broncos wait until after the season to extend Surtain, the $3.5M he is due this season wouldn’t apply to the extension. Only the fifth-year option of $19.8M would apply. If we assume $55M in new guarantees in a deal signed in 2025, that gives Surtain $74.8M in total guarantees, which still easily surpasses what Ward got.

Simply put, Surtain is likely to be the cornerback who actually re-sets the market in every aspect. And while it would be great to see him sign a deal sooner than later, how soon he signs an extension won’t change the fact that he’s certain to become the highest-paid cornerback in the NFL by any aspect you consider.

So while the Terrell extension may impact negotiations for a Surtain deal to some degree, Ward’s contract matters just as much in negotiations. It’s easy to look at the wide receiver market and think that somebody is going to do a massive re-set like Justin Jefferson, but among young cornerbacks eligible for extensions, none of them are as talented as Surtain.

If anybody does truly re-set the cornerback market, Surtain is that player. The only question is how soon he and the Broncos come to terms on that new deal.

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On Sept. 3, the University of Denver opens its doors to its newest class of undergraduate students. On Move-In Day, approximately 1,350 students and their families will descend on campus to get settled in, with most traveling more than 500 miles to get here.

The students in the Class of 2028 represent a wide swath of the U.S.—coming from 47 states—and the world, including 35 countries. Geographically, the largest percentage comes from Colorado (30%), followed by states in the West (18%), Midwest (17%), Northeast (14%), Southwest (12%) and Southeast (5%). The top home cities outside of Colorado are Chicago, Austin, Portland, Minneapolis, Santa Fe, Houston, St. Louis, St. Paul, Dallas and Albuquerque. 

This outstanding group of undergrads, who were selected from more than 19,000 applicants, have an average high school GPA of 3.76 and, of those who included their test scores on their applications, average ACT and SAT scores of 30 and 1281, respectively.

The University continues to recruit a diverse class of students, with 30% identifying as a member of an ethnic group other than white and 4% coming from abroad. First-generation students make up 19% of the incoming class. In addition to the first-year students, 160 transfer students will start at DU this fall. 

Finally, DU welcomes four Boettcher scholars, six Daniels Fund recipients and 27 Davis scholars. The Boettcher Scholarship is a merit-based scholarship awarded to 50 Colorado high school students each year. The Daniels Fund provides merit- and need-based, four-year scholarships to students from Colorado, Wyoming, Utah and New Mexico. The Davis United World College Scholars program gives scholarships to students around the world to study in the U.S.

Join us in welcoming all of our new first years!

Recently, the San Francisco 49ers extended disgrunteled wide receiver Brando Aiyuk after months of trade speculation, and along the way, the Denver Broncos were linked. According to reports by ESPN’s Dianna Russini and Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer, the Broncos were involved in a potential trade that never was. 

We learned after the extension that the Niners wanted a receiver to replace Aiyuk, if he were to be traded, and they had their eyes on Courtland Sutton, the Broncos’ top wide receiver. To feel comfortable making the trade, the Niners were reportedly willing to give Denver a third-round pick for Sutton.

When you add in Breer’s report, the pick to be exchanged would’ve been a Niners’ third-round pick by way of the Pittsburgh Steelers. The question is, did the Broncos make the right decision?

In order to answer that question, we must examine all the details that have emerged since Aiyuk’s extension knocked loose a lot of new information. Let’s dive in.

The Broncos moved on from Tim Patrick to ease their log jam at wide receiver and create an avenue for younger receivers like Devaughn Vele, Troy Franklin, and Marvin Mims Jr. to see the field. Releasing Patrick wasn’t a move to help the salary cap situation since the Broncos ate $6 million in dead money while saving a little over $1.1 million in cap space. It was about the log jam at the position. 

Sutton has the second-highest cap hit on the Broncos roster, at a hair under $17.3 million, behind left tackle Garett Bolles. Sutton was unsatisfied with his contract, and for months, the Broncos were unwilling to rework his deal.

However, the two sides finally came to an agreement on some bonuses that were considered unlikely to be earned. The fact that they are unlikely to be earned matters a ton here. 

When performance bonuses are handed out, they’re dubbed unlikely or likely to be earned based on a player’s track record. If they’re likely to be earned, they’ll count against the current year’s salary cap, and if they go unearned, the team will re-gain that cap space the following season.

As unlikely bonuses, they count against the following year’s salary cap if earned. This is important in this situation with Sutton. 

The Broncos wouldn’t be on the hook for any of the money unless he earned those bonuses. If he were with the Niners and earned them, it would go against their salary cap. With no new guaranteed money, the Broncos would save $9.6 million against the salary cap with $7.6 million in dead money. 

Had the Broncos traded Sutton, this would likely have kept Patrick on the roster. Remember, Patrick represents roughly $6 million in dead money while freeing up $1.1 million.

Trading Sutton would’ve added $1.6 million more in dead money, but it would have freed up $8.5 million more in usable cap space, which could’ve also been used to roll over into the 2025 season. The Broncos will still be dealing with Russell Wilson’s dead cap hit, so an extra $8.5 million could be useful. 

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The other fact here is the additional third-round pick, which, according to Breer, would’ve been from the Steelers. It’s impossible to predict where that third-round pick would end up, but let’s look at where different publications projected them. 

Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin has never had a losing season, and the defense they have is excellent, so most outlets view them as a nine or 10-win team. NFL.com had Pittsburgh tied with the Broncos as the 11th team in the AFC, but no record was given.

USA TODAY had the Steelers at 10-7, as did Sports Illustrated. I was unable to find a Steelers record prediction from ESPN or other national sites. That record would have put that pick Denver would have garnered from San Francisco for Sutton at around pick at No. 85 overall or the 20th or 21st pick in the third round. That’s better than if the pick was coming from the Niners, who are projected to be in the late 90s, as they’re one of the favorites to contend for a Super Bowl this year. 

The final fact to consider is the uncertainty of Sutton’s future with the team. There was a chance for the Broncos to rework his deal, which could’ve included an extension to secure his future with the team for at least a couple more seasons, but the team passed on that.

Rumors have been circulating about the Broncos wanting to move on from Sutton for almost three years. So, that’s important to remember when talking about the uncertainty of his standing with the team in future years. 

The Broncos had a chance to proceed with Patrick, an extra third-round pick, and an additional $8.5 million in salary cap space, but they passed on that avenue. Would that have been better than having only Sutton for the 2024 season with uncertainty beyond 2025, the final year of his deal?

The Broncos are betting that Sutton’s worth more to them on the team than all those other resources combined, and only time will tell whether they made the right decision.

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