Tag: contract extension

Garett Bolles’ contract extension is a good deal for the Broncos

Garett Bolles’ extension with the Broncos is a team-friendly deal that becomes easy to exit in 2026.

Denver Broncos left tackle Garett Bolles broke the news about his contract extension on Dec. 12. The deal was initially reported as a four-year, $82 million extension that could reach up to $86 million with incentives, worth an average of $20.5 million per season.

“The way he’s played — he’s available,” Broncos coach Sean Payton said on Dec. 13. “He’s someone who’s in incredible shape. I didn’t realize he was [32]. George [Paton] and I were talking — I just never paid attention to that. He does a great job at taking care of his body and then besides that — the most important thing — is he’s one of the premier pass blockers in our league.

“He stays in front of his guy. Regardless of — there are times where we have to help elsewhere and that’s hard to find. So he’s excited about it [and] we are as well. It’s much deserved and you guys know how important I feel like that position group is when you’re budling a team.”

Instead of testing the open market in 2025, Bolles took a team-friendly extension with hopes of finishing his career in Denver. Now that the details of the contract are known, it’s an even better deal for the Broncos than initially known.

Bolles has $23,735,000 fully guaranteed, according to OverTheCap.com, with all of his guaranteed salary coming in 2024 and 2025. His signing bonus will be prorated as $800,000 salary cap hits in 2025, 2026, 2027 and 2028.

The Broncos have team options in each of the next four seasons and Bolles can earn $765,000 through per-game roster bonuses each season. After the 2025 season, none of his salary is guaranteed for the rest of his contract.

So, in theory, Denver could move on from a 34-year-old Bolles in 2026 by taking on a $2.4 million “dead money” cap hit with a net savings of more than $6.8 million. The team would save $27 million if he’s let go in 2027 and $26.88 million in 2028.

It’s essentially a two-year extension for Bolles and it’s easy for the Broncos to get out of it starting in 2026. Here are his cap hits for the next five season, according to OTC:

2025: $5,816,000 ($12.36M lost if cut)
2026: $9,248,000 ($6.84M saved if cut)
2027: $28,683,000 ($27M saved if cut)
2028: $27,683,000 ($$26.88M saved if cut)
2029: $9,770,000 (void year)

Bolles also has void years from 2030-2033, but those should not impact the team’s cap space. If Bolles stays healthy and continues playing at a high level, he’ll be paid well in his final years in Denver. If the veteran tackle declines, the Broncos can move on without much cap trouble. It’s a good situation for Denver.

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Twitter reacts to Garett Bolles’ $82 million deal with Broncos

The Broncos gave Garett Bolles a four-year, $82 million contract extension on Thursday. Here’s how Twitter/X reacted to the news.

The Denver Broncos signed left tackle Garett Bolles to a four-year, $82 million contract extension on Thursday. Here’s a sampling of how fans and pundits reacted to the news on Twitter/X.

Bolles, 32, is now under contract through the 2028 season.

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Garett Bolles breaks news of his 4-year contract extension with great video

Denver Broncos left tackle Garett Bolles announced his four-year contract extension with a funny video.

Denver Broncos left tackle Garett Bolles has agreed to a four-year contract extension, the offensive lineman announced with a clever video on his social media pages on Thursday.

“Broncos Country, It’s been a great 8 years! Thanks for everything! And … I’m not leaving. The show goes on! GB,” Bolles wrote on social media.

Bolles shared a video with a photo of his face over Leonardo DiCaprio from a classic scene in The Wolf of Wall Street: “I’m not leaving,” DiCaprio says. “I’m not leaving. I’m not leaving! The show goes on!”

After Bolles broke the news, outlets quickly started confirming that the 32-year-old lineman has signed a four-year deal that will keep him in Denver through the 2028 season.

Bolles was picked by the Broncos in the first round of the 2017 NFL draft out of Utah. He struggled early in his career but Bolles has emerged as a top left tackle in recent seasons.

After previously giving contract extensions to cornerback Pat Surtain, guard Quinn Meinerz and pass rusher Jonathon Cooper earlier this year, Denver now has a quartet of key players signed through the duration of quarterback Bo Nix’s rookie contract. The next order of business could be an extension for pass rusher Nik Bonitto, who ranks second in the NFL in sacks this fall.

The four-year deal is worth $82 million and could reach up to $86 million with incentives, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. The deal includes $42 million guaranteed.

Nix’s blindside now has protection secured for the next four seasons.

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Jonathon Cooper’s contract is even better than initially reported

Jonathon Cooper’s contract is worth an average of $13.5 million per season, even better than the initially-reported $15M per year.

When news broke earlier this week that pass rusher Jonathon Cooper signed a contract extension with the Denver Broncos, it was reported as a four-year, $60 million deal. That would average out to about $15 million per season, a very reasonable price for a productive edge defender.

It turns out that the deal was even better than initially reported (agents have a tendency to leak the “max value” of their clients’ deals). Cooper’s four-year extension is worth $54 million, giving him an average yearly salary of $13.5 million. He could earn an additional $6 million through incentives.

Cooper probably could have waited until the spring and earned more in free agency, but he wanted to stay in Denver.

“The process was pretty quick, easy and simple,” Cooper said of negotiating his second contract in the NFL. “I have really good agents and the people across the team, they like them. The process went really smooth, and I felt like I didn’t need to take it any further than what it was because I love this program. I love this team. I love the organization, and I just felt like I didn’t need to go any further and signing it there in the hotel, it just worked out as well as it could.”

Cooper received a $6,025,168 signing bonus that will be prorated as $1,225,168 cap hits in each of the next five seasons, according to OverTheCap.com. He also has a $4 million roster bonus due next spring and $510,000 game-day bonuses in each of the next four seasons.

Here’s a look at Cooper’s base salaries and cap hits from 2025-2028, courtesy of OTC:

2025: $5,635,000 / $11,345,000
2026: $11,490,000 / $13,200,000
2027: $12,990,000 / $14,700,000
2028: $12,990,000 / $14,700,000

Cooper gets a well-deserved raise with more than $16.7 million guaranteed and the Broncos got a team-friendly deal by getting the extension done before free agency. It worked out well for both sides.

“I’m very proud of ‘Coop’” cornerback Pat Surtain said this week. “When you talk about a guy who came in with the right approach, right work ethic and everything along the lines of becoming a great player, that’s him. Him being a seventh-round pick and going through the roster this and that — for him to be able to secure that contract is huge to him. I’m very proud of him.”

Cooper, 26, is tied with Nik Bonitto for the team lead in sacks over the last two seasons (14). After leading the club with 8.5 sacks last fall, Cooper is now on pace for the first double-digit sack season of his career in 2024. He deserves of penny of the new deal.

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Jonathon Cooper thankful, humble after getting new deal from Broncos

Jonathon Cooper fell to the seventh round of the 2021 draft before landing with the Broncos. “It all worked out the way it was supposed to.”

Jonathon Cooper had his NFL draft stock fall in 2021 after a pre-draft EKG revealed a heart irregularity. Cooper had known since high school that he had a Wolff-Parkinson-White heart condition, and that likely explained — at least in part — why he fell all the way to the seventh round in the NFL draft four years ago.

After being picked by the Broncos — who were aware of the condition — Cooper underwent surgery to help correct the irregularity. Fifty-six games in the NFL later, Cooper now has 38 quarterback hits and 18.5 sacks on his resume.

Denver rewarded Cooper’s production with a four-year, $60 million contract extension over the weekend. The humble pass rusher addressed the media for the first time after the news of his new deal broke earlier this week.

“I just want to start off by saying thank you to God,” Cooper said at his press conference on Wednesday. “Thank you to this organization, to Greg [Penner] and Carrie [Walton Penner], George [Paton], all of my coaches, head coach Sean Payton, everybody here that contributed [and] to the Broncos for believing in me. [I] just wanted to state that first and foremost, how thankful I am.”

Cooper’s heart condition likely cost him a few rounds during the 2021 draft, but he believes it all worked out the way it was supposed to.

“It was a tough process with the draft process and everything like that,” Cooper said. “I’m sure without that medical flag, I probably would have went a little bit higher. Honestly, it all worked out the way it was supposed to.

“I couldn’t have asked for a better opportunity than to come here and to get that call from George [Paton]. It was just awesome. Even looking back at that, it all worked out the way it was supposed to, so [I’m] really not upset or mad about it. Just know that it’s time to get back to work.”

Payton was pleased to see the pass rusher get a new deal that will keep him with the team through the 2028 season.

“I’m excited for him,” Payton said. “He’s tough, he’s competitive. I think he’s a really good teammate. We have a lot of these guys that are. You know exactly the physicality you’re getting with a player. Well, you guys know him, so he certainly deserved it.”

Up next for Cooper and Co. is a tough road game against the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday. Cooper has 2.5 sacks in six career games against the Chiefs, but just one win against them. He’ll aim to build on both of those totals this weekend.

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Broncos’ 2021 draft class is paying off big time

The Broncos picked Pat Surtain, Quinn Meinerz and Jonathon Cooper in the 2021 NFL draft. They’re now all signed through at least 2028.

The Denver Broncos made 10 picks in the 2021 NFL draft. Half of those players started for the team this season, and at least three of them will remain core players for the foreseeable future.

The Broncos used their first-round pick that year to select cornerback Pat Surtain, who received a four-year, $96 million contract extension in September. The team’s second-round pick was running back Javonte Williams, who remains Denver’s starting RB.

In the third round, the Broncos picked guard Quinn Meinerz, who signed a four-year, $80 million deal in August. In the final round of that draft, Denver picked pass rusher Jonathon Cooper. He received a four-year, $60 million extension earlier this week.

That’s three players at three key positions — cornerback, pass rusher and offensive line — who are now signed through at least the 2028 season. Broncos rookie quarterback Bo Nix also has a fifth-year option in his contract for 2028.

Building through the draft is the most sustainable way to build a winning roster in the NFL and three years later, Denver’s 2021 class is paying off.

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Breaking down the details of the David Montgomery contract extension

Breaking down the details of the David Montgomery contract extension with the Lions

The Detroit Lions and running back David Montgomery agreed to a contract extension late last week. The financial details of the extension are now available, and it alters a little of the prevailing narrative about the money and obligations involved.

Per Over The Cap, the extension is indeed as advertised on the surface: two years, $18.25 million. Of that, $10.49 million is guaranteed, including a $3.25 million signing bonus. The extension runs through the 2027 season, though the Lions did add on a void year in 2028 to help amortize the cap hit over an extra year.

One detail that wasn’t initially reported is that there are now per-game roster bonuses for Montgomery through the end of the contract. Montgomery will get $30,000 for each game he is active, adding up to $510,000 in roster bonuses for a 17-game season.

The cap hit for 2026 is $8.37 million with a salary of $5.49 million. Those numbers jump to $10.245 million and $$7.49 million in 2027, a year that also includes a $1 million roster bonus.

As Over The Cap notes,

The extension lowered his cap number in 2024 by about $1.7 million. His 2025 cap number will increase by about $1.25 million as a result of the extension.

The way the cap setup is structured here, don’t expect Montgomery to play on this contract as it exists right now in 2027. There is considerable room, and time, for a restructure down the road.

Alim McNeill agrees to a 4-year contract extension with the Lions

Detroit DT Alim McNeill agrees to a 4-year contract extension with the Lions

The Detroit Lions have locked up another significant building block. Per his agent, Mike McCartney, Alim McNeill and the Lions have agreed to a four-year contract extension.

McCartney did not provide the monetary details, though reports from other sources indicate it’s a four-year deal worth $97 million. It’s a significant signing for the Lions in keeping the talented young defensive tackle in Detroit. McNeill was set to become a free agent at the end of the 2024 season.

A third-round pick out of North Carolina State in GM Brad Holmes’ first draft class back in 2021, McNeill has emerged as one of the NFL’s better interior pass rushers. He has 2.5 sacks in five games in 2024 after netting a career-high five sacks a year ago.

McNeill is the latest key Lions player to get a contract extension, joining Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jared Goff, Taylor Decker and David Montgomery, who agreed to a new extension just last week.

David Montgomery agrees to contract extension with the Lions

The Detroit Lions and RB David Montgomery have agreed to a new contract extension

Get used to David Montgomery in Detroit. The talented Lions running back has agreed to a new contract extension that will keep Montgomery in the Honolulu blue and silver through the 2027 season.

Montgomery joined the Lions before the 2023 season, signing a 3-year, $18 million contract that also included a void year. The new deal adds two more seasons in Detroit for Montgomery, now 27.

Dan Miller, the radio voice of the Lions, first reported the news:

 

No word yet on the new money involved for Montgomery, who has 271 yards on 63 carries in the first four games in 2024, scoring four TDs. The contract has yet to be signed but the terms have been agreed upon, per other sources.

Chiefs TE Noah Gray talks mindset after contract extension: ‘Whatever they need me to do’

Kansas City #Chiefs TE Noah Gray talks mindset after contract extension: ‘Whatever they need me to do’ | @EdEastonJr

The depth at various positions is essential for a team seeking a deep championship run in the NFL, and the Kansas City Chiefs have consistently shown their appreciation for their roster.

Chiefs tight end Noah Gray earned a contract extension shortly before the start of the Week 1 victory over the Baltimore Ravens. He spoke to reporters on Friday after practice about being happy to stay in Kansas City and his mindset moving forward.

“I’m extremely grateful; I can’t thank God enough, I can’t thank Clark Hunt and the Hunt family enough, this organization, front office, coaches, teammates, just really everybody I’ve been fortunate enough to be in contact with these past three years (and) play with,” said Gray. “It’s just an absolute blessing. Just super grateful that I’m back here for the foreseeable future.”

The former fifth-round draft pick out of Duke in 2021 has 63 catches for 640 yards and four touchdowns in three seasons in Kansas City. He has garnered plenty of respect for his versatility and reliability on special teams.

“I mean, I’m just out here having fun with my boys; whatever my coaches need me to do, I’m willing to do it,” said Gray. “I give huge credit to Coach (Dave) Toub over the past three years, putting me in positions to be successful, Coach Tom (Melvin), and all the other coaches we have. Whatever they need me to do is what I do, and I have a ton of fun doing it.”

Gray’s three-year contract extension is another example of general manager Brett Veach showing his commitment to his draft selections continuing to develop over time.