Broncos salary cap update after Pat Surtain extension

After giving Pat Surtain an extension and restructuring Courtland Sutton’s contract, the Broncos have about $6.7M in remaining cap space.

After giving a massive contract extension to cornerback Pat Surtain earlier this week, the Denver Broncos have $6,760,584 in remaining salary cap space, according to an estimate from OverTheCap.com. Spotrac.com lists a slighter higher number ($7,551,316), but the websites are in a similar ballpark.

The Broncos would have been over the cap going into the season if they did not restructure wide receiver Courtland Sutton’s contract on Wednesday. Denver converted most of Sutton’s salary into a bonus, saving $9.5 million in 2024 cap space (the team was a few million over the cap before that).

With somewhere between $6.7 million and $7.5 million in cap space, the Broncos now have room for potential in-season signings. If players go on injured reserve, they also count against the cap, so Denver needed to have a cushion going into the season.

The Broncos rank 20th in the NFL in available cap space, third in the AFC West behind the Los Angeles Chargers ($9 million) and Las Vegas Raiders ($28.7 million). The Kansas City Chiefs are last in the division with $5.4 million in remaining cap space.

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49ers actually created salary cap space in 2024 with Brandon Aiyuk contract

The 49ers now have the 2nd-most cap space in the NFL after getting the Brandon Aiyuk deal done.

The San Francisco 49ers wound up saving money on wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk this season by getting his long-term extension done.

Aiyuk was due a fully-guaranteed $14,124,000 with the fifth-year option on his rookie deal. There was always going to be an opportunity for them to lower that $14.12 million cap hit with a new contract, but details have given us an exact cap number for him in 2024.

According to Over the Cap, Aiyuk’s salary cap hit in 2024 is now $5,725,000. That means the 49ers actually save $8,399,000 against the cap this season. His cap hit jumps to $11,191,000 in 2025, and then $16,223,000 the following year.

While there are no guarantees beyond the 2026 season, Aiyuk’s cap hits skyrocket to $42,282,000 in 2027 and $44,158,000 in 2028 – both numbers that figure to be reduced dramatically via a restructured deal or an extension if he’s going to stay with San Francisco.

The 49ers are now sitting with the second-most cap space in the NFL according to OTC. They’re at $48,231,713 in available room, just behind the Browns who have north of $51 million in space.

That number will come down some once Trent Williams is back with the club. He’s not on the roster as of August 31, so his cap hit doesn’t factor into the 49ers’ total. Still, they’ll have plenty of cap space to maneuver during the season while also having some rollover room going into 2025.

Salary cap space will start to become something the 49ers will have to watch very carefully with Williams’ deal coming, and quarterback Brock Purdy’s megadeal looming next offseason.

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Broncos salary cap update going into free agency

The Broncos should have north of $27 million in available salary cap space going into NFL free agency.

NFL free agency hasn’t even started yet and the Denver Broncos have already made a flurry of roster moves.

Parting ways with quarterback Russell Wilson put the team in a salary cap hole, but the team has made progress climbing out of that hole.

The team restructured the contracts of wide receiver Tim Patrick (saving $8.375 million) and right tackle Mike McGlinchey (saving $11 million). Denver also cut safety Justin Simmons (saving $14.5 million) and tight end Chris Manhertz (saving $2.12 million). The Broncos then agreed to trade receiver Jerry Jeudy to the Cleveland Browns (saving $12.987 million).

Denver has also made a few in-house deals, most notably re-signing safety P.J. Locke to a two-year deal. Additionally, the team brought back offensive lineman Quinn Bailey, linebacker Jonas Griffith and wide receiver Michael Bandy on one-year contracts.

So, where does that leave the team going in free agency this week?

The exact details of P.J. Locke’s contract are not yet known, but it’s been reported as a $7 million deal. If split evenly over two years, Locke would have a $3.5 million cap hit this season (that’s not a likely scenario, but just for the sake of an example, we’ll go with it).

Before accounting for the Locke contract, OverTheCap.com estimates the Broncos have $30,575,445 in available salary cap space. Subtracting $3.5 million for Locke would drop that total down to $27,075,445, but it wouldn’t be surprising if the safety’s contract has a lower cap hit in 2024 than in 2025.

We won’t know the team’s exact cap space until the details of Locke’s contract are revealed, but it seems safe to guestimate that Denver has north of $27 million available going into NFL free agency.

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Broncos restructure WR Tim Patrick’s contract to get under salary cap

Tim Patrick has agreed to restructure his contract to remain with the Broncos in 2024.

The Denver Broncos have restructured wide receiver Tim Patrick’s contract, according to a report from KUSA-TV’s Mike Klis. Following the restructure, the Broncos are now under the salary cap, according to the Denver Gazette‘s Chris Tomasson.

Patrick agreed to decrease his base salary to the league minimum ($1.125 million), according to ESPN’s Field Yates. He can earn back an additional $1.205 million through incentives, plus $170,000 in per-game roster bonuses.

Patrick was set to have a base salary of $9.5 million in 2024 and a total salary cap hit of $15,571,668, according to OverTheCap.com. After taking a pay cut, Patrick’s total cap hit is $7,196,668.

Patrick entered the league as an undrafted free agent out of Utah with the Baltimore Ravens in 2017, but they cut him during training camp. Patrick then spent time with the San Francisco 49ers in preseason but failed to make their 53-man roster.

About two months after he had been cut by the Ravens and 49ers, Patrick signed with the Broncos’ practice squad. He spent the rest of his rookie season on the practice squad before emerging as a rotational receiver in 2018.

After two years of modest production, Patrick had a breakout from 2020-2021, topping 50 catches, 700 receiving yards and five touchdowns in each of those two seasons. Denver then rewarded the receiver with a three-year, $30 million contract extension ahead of the 2022 season.

Unfortunately, Patrick is yet to play a single down since signing that deal. The receiver first tore his ACL and missed the 2022 campaign. After returning, Patrick then suffered a torn Achilles and missed the entire 2023 season.

Now coming off back-to-back serious injuries, Patrick will turn 31 during the 2024 season. The receiver has earned just north of $25.3 million through seven seasons in the NFL. He’s set to stick around for at least one more season in Denver after agreeing to restructure his contract.

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2024 NFL Free Agency: Ranking all 32 NFL teams (including the Minnesota Vikings) by available cap space

Where do the Minnesota Vikings rank in terms of salary cap space? We ranked all 32 teams.

With the beginning of the new league year approaching in a little over two weeks, the NFL gave each franchise a gift heading into the 2024 season: An extra $5 million in cap space over the initial projected amount.

With over $255 million to work with ($255.4 for those that like to be exact), the 32 front offices can start strategizing how they will make their money work for them going into this season.

As teams sort out if and how they use their franchise tags and other potential cap-friendly avenues, we rank the available cap space for all 32 teams from least to most.

Data courtesy of Over The Cap as of Sunday, February 25th

Here’s where 49ers rank in 2024 salary cap space

The 49ers aren’t in too bad a spot salary cap-wise.

The NFL’s $255.4 million salary cap for 2024 was certainly helpful for a 49ers club that needed as much wiggle room as possible this offseason. That $255.4 million number came in almost $14 million above the projection from Over the Cap and put San Francisco in a more advantageous spot to have an effective offseason.

Still, the 49ers are one of a few teams with a little work to do to get under the cap per OTC.

Here’s the cap space for each team and where San Francisco ranks going into the 2024 league year:

Keenan Allen on future with Chargers: ‘I don’t want to go nowhere else’

Keenan Allen could be dealt to clear up salary cap space.

With the Chargers set to be over the league’s salary cap, they will have to do some wheeling and dealing with some of their players this offseason to create space, whether it’s extending, trading, restructuring or releasing them.

Among the current highest-paid players who could be dealt to open up salary cap space is wide receiver Keenan Allen. Allen, however, hopes that he remains in Los Angeles.

“I don’t want to go nowhere else,” Allen said. “I’ve been here 10 years, like you said, the longest guy on the team, so I’m not looking forward to anything else.”

Allen is coming off the best season of his career before suffering a heel injury that kept him sidelined for the final four games of the season. In 13 games, he set the Chargers’ single-season record for receptions with 108 and amassed 1,243 yards, the second-most in his career.

Allen is due $18.1 million in the final year of his contract. Meanwhile, the Bolts are expected to be over $45 million over the projected $240.5 million salary cap in 2024.

If he happened to be traded, Allen said he would only play for a “select few” teams. Otherwise, he would retire.

“If it did come down to that, adios amigos,” Allen said. “I’ll get picked up in the offseason or right before the playoffs like them old heads be doing.”

Colts to have roughly $71 million in 2024 salary-cap space

The Colts will have plenty of salary-cap space to work with this offseason.

The Indianapolis Colts are gearing up for a vital 2024 offseason in which they will be building off a successful campaign despite missing out on the postseason.

With a promising 21-year-old quarterback on a rookie contract, the Colts find themselves in a strong standing with the salary cap. Though they have a few players to re-sign this offseason, the Colts will be among the leaders in salary cap for the upcoming offseason.

It was reported during the regular season that the NFL salary cap for 2024 is expected to exceed $240 million. The league has not announced the official number, and that won’t happen until March.

According to Over The Cap, the Colts are expected to have roughly $71.2 million in cap space based on a $242 million salary-cap projection. That ranks fifth-best in the NFL.

In terms of effective salary cap, which is defined as “the cap space a team will have after signing at least 51 players and its projected rookie class to its roster”, the Colts rank third with $61.4 million. The top-51 rule applies when the new league year begins in March.

The Colts will have several important players set to hit the market this offseason. Some of them will be re-signed while others will be allowed to test the market. It’s far too early to say which players fall into what categories.

Even with this much salary-cap space, we shouldn’t expect the Colts to go wild. General manager Chris Ballard has never been one to overspend during free agency, but it would give them the ability to pull off a high-profile trade.

It should be an exciting offseason despite the disappointing finish to the 2023 season, and the Colts will have plenty of ammo to work with in terms of the salary cap.

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Broncos have limited salary cap space remaining

The Broncos have less than $1 million in salary cap space, according to an estimate from OverTheCap.

After making nearly 50 transactions in late August to finalize a 53-man roster, the Denver Broncos are now one week into the 2023 NFL season with little salary cap space to spare.

After roster cuts, the Broncos are left with just $813,137 in remaining cap space, according to an estimate from OverTheCap.com on Friday. And that’s after the team restructured Tim Patrick’s contract to get some cap cushion.

That number accounts for the players on injured reserve who will cost more than $18 million against the cap this year, and it also includes the 17 players on the practice squad who add up to about $4.2 million in cap space.

Denver generally likes to go into the season with around $10 million in available cap space, leaving room for in-season signings, trades and possible in-season extensions. Unless they make additional restructures, the team will have little room for error during the 2023 season.

The most notable Broncos players who will be in line for extensions next are members of the team’s 2021 draft class, headlined by star cornerback Pat Surtain. His contract includes a fifth-year option, giving the team more time to get a long-term deal done.

Other players from that class with contracts set to expire after next season include running back Javonte Williams, outside linebacker Baron Browning and guard Quinn Meinerz. Denver receiver Jerry Jeudy is also set to play on his fifth year option in 2024 before becoming a free agent in 2025.

Any cap space the Broncos do not use this season will roll over and be added to the team’s 2024 cap total.

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