Everything the Denver Broncos have worked for is now in front of them. They have conquered the regular season and have the best possible position heading into the NFL postseason.
Denver, CO
Understanding the Denver Broncos' salary cap situation – DNVR Sports
It’s officially the offseason in Denver, and that means it’s time for a salary cap refresher.
Maybe you don’t know how the NFL salary cap works. Maybe you need a refresher. Maybe you already understand the cap and don’t need to read any of this.
Regardless, here are answers to some of the questions Broncos fans might be asking this offseason.
(All of the numbers below come from Spotrac, OverTheCap or the NFLPA.)
How much salary cap space do the Broncos have?
-$30 million.
The number isn’t set in stone quite yet. Sometime in the next two months, the NFL will announce the official salary cap for the 2024 season. Most projections expect the cap to be about $242.5 million, which is up from $224.8 million in 2023.
The Broncos currently have about $273 million in salary cap liabilities for 2024. They’ll roll over their $1 million in unused salary cap space from 2023. That will leave them about $30 million over the expected salary cap, which places them in the bottom five of the NFL in cap space.
In other leagues, going over the salary cap can be allowed. For example, MLB has a luxury tax, or a tax on all spending past the limit.
The NFL has a hard cap, though. There’s no exceeding the limit.
Why don’t the Broncos have salary cap space?
These are the 10 biggest earners for the Broncos in 2024, by salary cap hit:
- Russell Wilson ($35.4 million)
- Garett Bolles ($20 million)
- Zach Allen ($19 million)
- Mike McGlinchey ($18.5 million)
- Justin Simmons ($18.25 million)
- Courtland Sutton ($17.3 million)
- Tim Patrick ($15.57 million)
- Ben Powers ($15.25 million)
- Jerry Jeudy ($12.99 million)
- DJ Jones ($12.96 million)
These 10 players take up $185 million in cap space, or about 76% of the salary cap.
Can NFL teams spend cash instead of salary cap?
No. Every dollar a team spends on players must be accounted for in the salary cap.
However, when teams account for that money is flexible, especially with excess cash.
NFL contracts can provide players money in various ways, but the two most common ways are through salaries and signing bonuses. Salaries must be accounted for in the year the team gives the player the money, but signing bonus money is split evenly across each year of the contract.
For example, imagine the Broncos sign a new player to a five-year contract this offseason. If they give him a $10 million salary in 2024, that will add $10 million to the Broncos’ salary cap spending in 2024.
But if they give him a $10 million signing bonus, the cap hit is split over all five years of the deal. In salary cap dollars, the bonus would cost the Broncos $2 million in 2024, $2 million in 2025, $2 million in 2026, $2 million in 2027 and $2 million in 2028.
By spending cash up front—a signing bonus—the team gets to push some of the salary cap implications down the road.
Every dollar the team spends on players must be accounted for in the salary cap, but cash signing bonuses can push that accounting to future years.
How will the Broncos get under the salary cap?
The Broncos have two primary ways they can reduce their salary cap liabilities.
- Trade or release players.
- Restructure contracts.
The first option is clear. If somebody has a $15 million non-guaranteed salary in 2024 and the Broncos decide to release him, they would gain $15 million in 2024 salary cap space.
The second option is more complicated.
A contract restructure means the team and the player agree to change the contract. This can be adding incentive, reducing pay, or any number of other things.
The most common type of restructure is a “simple restructure.” In this case, the player’s salary is converted to a signing bonus, which (as explained above) spreads his salary cap hit of the remainder of his contract.
Let’s look at Mike McGlinchey’s contract, for example.
McGlinchey has four years remaining on his deal. In 2024, his salary is $15 million. If McGlinchey and the Broncos agree to a simple restructure, they would reduce the salary to the minimum veteran salary (about $1.5 million) and convert the rest ($13.5 million) to a bonus. That bonus would be split over all four remaining seasons for salary cap purposes.
Instead of accounting for the entire $15 million that McGlinchey is due in 2024, the Broncos could reduce his cap hit to $4.875 million (the $1.5 million minimum salary plus one-fourth of the $13.5 million bonus).
The downside is that the Broncos’ salary cap bill for McGlinchey will increase in each of the other three remaining seasons by $3.375 million, one-fourth of the bonus.
For the Broncos, pushing some of the salary cap money down the road could make sense.
For McGlinchey, accepting the restructure makes even more sense. Instead of waiting until football season to get paid his $15 million in weekly installments, he gets the bulk of the money right away.
Who could the Broncos trade to clear salary cap space?
The Broncos could save at least $45 million in salary cap space in 2024 by trading any of these players:
Garett Bolles — $16 million
Justin Simmons — $14.5 million
Jerry Jeudy: $12.99 million
DJ Jones — $9.97 million
Courtland Sutton — $9.65 million
Tim Patrick — $9.5 million
Zach Allen — $7.75 million
Jarrett Stidham — $6 million
Ben Powers — $5.5 million
Alex Singleton — $4.67 million
Mike McGlinchey — $4.5 million
Who could the Broncos release to clear salary cap space?
The Broncos could save at least $5 million in salary cap space in 2024 by releasing any of these players:
Garett Bolles — $16 million
Justin Simmons — $14.5 million
Courtland Sutton — $9.65 million
Tim Patrick — $9.5 million
DJ Jones — $9.97 million
Jarrett Stidham — $4.5 million
What is dead cap?
Dead cap is money that is accounted for in the salary cap for a player that is no longer on the team.
For example, Randy Gregory has a $7.1 million salary cap hit for the Broncos in 2024. That is “dead money” because Gregory is no longer on the team.
Dead cap is the remaining money that has been paid to a player, but hasn’t yet been accounted for in the salary cap. Gregory’s dead money comes from two places:
- His signing bonus.
- A restructure.
Gregory signed a 5-year, $70 million contract with the Broncos. His salaries in the first two years (2022 and 2023) were guaranteed.
Gregory got a $10 million signing bonus. For salary cap purposes, that bonus cost the Broncos $2 million in each of the five seasons. The Broncos traded Gregory in October, during his second season. That left three seasons of signing bonus—$6 million—to be accounted for. That’s $6 million of the $7.1 million of the dead cap hit the Broncos will take in 2024.
Even though the Broncos traded Gregory to the 49ers, Denver is still responsible for that dead cap hit, because they were the ones who gave him the cash. Whoever pays the cash must also pay the cap hit.
The other $1.1 million of Gregory’s dead cap hit for Denver comes from a restructure that was done at the time of the trade to make the deal a little sweeter for the 49ers. We won’t dig into those numbers though. You get the point.
Can the Broncos cut Russell Wilson?
Yes.
The Broncos have two paths to release Russell Wilson:
- Release him in the next two months.
- Release him after two more seasons.
In theory, the Broncos could move on from him at a different time, but that would be financially reckless.
Here’s why: Wilson’s contract includes a guaranteed salary for 2025, but only if Wilson is still on the roster on March 17th, 2024. If the Broncos release Wilson before that date, they won’t owe him any of his $37 million 2025 salary.
So, if the Broncos keep Wilson for the 2024 season, they might as well keep him for the 2025 season, too. They’ll be paying him either way.
If the Broncos move on from Wilson this offseason, his cap hits will look like this:
2024: $35.4 million
2025: $49.6 million
2026+: $0
If the Broncos keep Wilson for the next two seasons, his salary cap hits will look like this:
2024: $35.4 million
2025: $55.4 million
2026: $18.4 million
2027: $12.8 million
2028+: $0
In other words, the Broncos won’t save any salary cap space this season if they move on from Wilson, but they will save $37 million (Wilson’s 2025 salary) over the following three seasons.
Will the Broncos be able to sign free agents?
Yes, but probably not like last year.
The Broncos were one of the NFL’s biggest spenders in free agency in 2023. They brought in Mike McGlinchey, Ben Powers and Zach Allen. All three players earn at least $10 million per year.
Broncos general manager George Paton gave his take on the situation at his end-of-season press conference.
“We won’t be in on the first wave of free agency like we were last year,” Paton said. “You can’t do that every year. We’ll be very strategic and very specific on what positions and what players we try to sign.”
If the Broncos wanted to get aggressive, they could find a way to get a top-10 free agent. But they would need to do some gymnastics to make the numbers work.
Most free-agent contracts include big signing bonuses and smaller first-year salaries. That means cap hits are generally low in Year 1.
For example, Mike McGlinchey’s average cap hit on his five-year deal is $17.5 million. But his Year 1 cap hit was $6 million.
While the Broncos probably won’t make any big moves in free agency, they can probably do more than you’d expect given their current situation. Most of the bills for new players will be paid down the line.
Which Broncos will be free agents?
Eight of Denver’s starters will be unrestricted free agents this offseason.
- ILB Josey Jewell
- C Lloyd Cushenberry III
- CB Fabian Moreau
- TE Adam Trautman
- S PJ Locke
- DT Mike Purcell
- FB Michael Burton
- K Wil Lutz
The following reserves will also be unrestricted free agents:
- CB K’Waun Williams
- T Cameron Fleming
- DT Jonathan Harris
- LB Justin Strnad
Have more questions? Leave them in the comments below.
Every team in the NFL has injuries every season. It is part of the game and to be expected.
In having a dominant regular season that secured the #1 seed in the playoffs, the Broncos have allowed themselves to get healthy by and large at the right time.
The one glaring link missing is going to be Brandon Jones, who is going to be missed on defense. He’s a versatile, physical safety who has played exceptionally well in the Broncos’ defense.
But getting back inside linebacker Dre Greenlaw is a big deal. He’s an enforcer over the middle and is capable of covering backs and tight ends in the passing game (which is what the Bills love to target).
With Brandon Jones out, the news of P.J. Locke returning is welcome news. The Broncos are thin at safety, and he’s been the #1 backup for the safety group all season long. Hopefully, he’s learned from last year’s playoff game and won’t let Josh Allen pick on him as he did in last year’s playoff game.
Another key player getting healthy is Jonathan Franklin-Myers, who is an absolute beast of an interior lineman and a pass-rushing nightmare. With the style of pass rush that the Broncos employ on mobile quarterbacks, Franklin-Myers and compatriot Jared Allen could have big games up front.
At the end of the day, the Broncos have no excuses for this game. They are healthy, prepared, and playing at home. Now they just need to go out there and execute on Saturday.
Denver, CO
‘I can only imagine what it’s going to be like’: Broncos eager to play in front of home crowd as postseason football returns to Mile High City
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — By the time Bills quarterback Josh Allen steps to the line of scrimmage, that’s already too late.
The noise — the deafening roar of more than 76,000 fans at Empower Field at Mile High — must start earlier.
The yells, the stomps, the claps and the screams, as Head Coach Sean Payton emphasized Tuesday ahead of the Broncos’ first home playoff game in a decade, must start when Allen and the Buffalo Bills enter the huddle.
In the leadup to Denver’s playoff opener, Payton has touched on the importance of the noise coming earlier. He’s pointed to the difficulty of the quarterback communicating the play call in the huddle — and how the communication breakdowns could provide an advantage for Denver’s defense.
“There’s a stress that goes with that, too,” Payton said in mid-December. “That’s stressful. Creating that stress is a big advantage.”
Payton pointed to Empower Field at Mile High as one of just a handful of stadiums in the league with a potential to be truly deafening, and he called for that level of noise again when Denver hosts the Bills. The request, too, is simple enough. In 10-second bursts, when the Bills are in the huddle and as they line up to snap the ball, the noise should boom through the stadium. And then again. And then again. And again, for each of the Bills’ offensive snaps.
As Denver looks to book a trip to the AFC Championship Game, Payton knows that would be “a huge advantage” for the Broncos.
Wide receiver Courtland Sutton, who is poised to play in his first career home playoff game, said he is eager to see how Broncos Country shows up for a long-awaited postseason matchup.
“I’ve been saying since I got here that we needed to get a home playoff game back in the city,” Sutton said. “The way that the fans have been showing up, Broncos Country has been bumping.
“… I can only imagine what it’s going to be like, first [postseason] home game since 2015. It’s well overdue, and I’m excited to see Broncos Country show up and show out.”
Cornerback Pat Surtain II said he’s also ready for a raucous environment that could help push the Broncos to a win.
“I know the atmosphere is going to be crazy,” Surtain said. “The stadium is going to be rocking at [Empower Field at] Mile High, and I’m looking forward to it. … I can already feel the magnitude of it and how electric that stadium is going to be. It’s going to be exciting.”
Playing a postseason game at home, of course, is not enough on its own to guarantee a win. During Wild Card Weekend, four of the six road teams earned victories.
“We have to be ready to play our best game,” Payton said.
In key moments, though, the Empower Field at Mile High crowd could help swing the game in Denver’s favor, whether via a miscommunication in the huddle or a pre-snap penalty. And in a battle that could come down to the very end, that could help the Broncos improve upon their 17-5 home postseason record.
“I expect it to be extremely loud,” quarterback Bo Nix said. “I expect it to be a great environment.
“… Something tells me it’ll be kicked up a notch, just because it’s got ‘playoffs’ on it.”
Now that we’ve got some separation from the regular season and a week without Broncos football being played, I’m ruminating on what the Broncos are going to do on the field in the playoffs.
One of the big things I love about cheering for this team today is just how dynamic and cunning the coaching staff is on both sides of the ball. Sean Payton is the real deal, both as a head coach first and foremost and as an offensive coordinator. He’s constantly shifting the team’s game plan to match opponents, keep them off balance, and take advantage of weaknesses that show up on film.
As a guy who loves to play armchair coach during the season a bit, I’m going to share some ideas I have that seem like somewhat obvious tweaks to this offense we are likely to see in the postseason.
Go with the hot hand at running back
One issue I see on offense is the disparity at times in who is getting carries at running back when you look at the production on the field. Most of the last few games have seen Jaleel McLaughlin produce more consistently than RJ Harvey in raw run play production. I think one obvious thing we may see Sean Payton do is to let McLaughlin have more carries if he stays hot.
That’s not to say that I’m down on Harvey. I just think when a guy is producing, you should adjust to give that guy more carries at the running back position. RJ Harvey is a talented back who produces both on the ground and through the air (especially in the red zone).
The only aside I can see about this idea is that it is possible that McLaughlin and Harvey aren’t interchangeable from a play-call perspective. It is possible
Punish man / off coverage looks with quarterback scrambles
Bo Nix is a scrambling weapon with the ball. In the playoffs, if the defense wants to sink coverage or play man Nix will need to be quicker to take the ground yards. For much of the regular season, we’ve seen Nix stay very disciplined with wanting to throw the ball down the field on scrambles. There’s a fine line to walk with this, as sometimes you need to just punish defenses for ignoring your athletic capability.
Nix ran 83 times in 2025 and averaged 4.3 yards per carry. He easily could have had 100 carries with a more aggressive approach. Keeping Nix healthy means it is a much better idea for him not to take the risk in the regular season. He’s pretty good at taking angles out of bounds or sliding and knowing when to do that to avoid big hits, though.
The Broncos’ offense doesn’t really scare anyone, but adding this wrinkle in the postseason should help open things up quite a bit.
Get Mims and Franklin some deep shots
Easily the most frustrating thing about the Broncos’ offense this season has been their inability to connect on their deep shots. Nix hasn’t dialed in his accuracy deep down the field yet, which is a shame. The Broncos end up in a lot of man coverage situations and rarely are able to capitalize.
In the postseason, it is time to change that. We have both Marvin Mims and Troy Franklin, who are superb deep pass targets with killer speed. If the Broncos can get their run game production geared up, they absolutely will have opportunities to hit these deep plays.
Bonus No Bull thoughts on Sean Payton
Don’t get lulled to sleep by the last few games of the season. Everyone who knows football sees the same thing I have in my game reviews: Payton kept things vanilla on purpose.
It is a hard thing to watch a team go run, run, pass ad nauseum (am I right, Broncos fans who “enjoyed” the Dan Reeves era with John Elway?). That was strategic, not senile.
Sean Payton is one of the brightest offensive minds in the game (with all due respect to Kyle Shanahan, Andy Reid, and Sean McVay). He knows exactly where this team is at and what is at stake in the postseason. The Bills are going to have to go back to some old tape to try to sort out what our offense is about.
No matter what they prepare for, I expect a good dose of plays that they won’t know are coming. The world at large may think that the Bills are Goliath. That’s just fine. Payton knows exactly how dangerous a team can be when everyone thinks your team is a bunch of young Davids.
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