Broncos’ $60 Million Defender On Tap for ‘All-Pro’ Breakout Year

If NFL teams are looking for a template on how to keep top defensive stars in the fold, it would be smart to look at how the Denver Broncos approached edge rusher Jonathon Cooper’s latest contract and use that as a template.

The key is knowing the exact right moment to pull the trigger on a deal, which the Broncos did midway through the 2024 season with a 4-year, $60 million contract extension that included $33 million guaranteed.

While we still need to see how the 2025 season plays out, it could end up being one of the greatest bargains in franchise history.

Bleacher Report’s Matt Holder singled Cooper out as Denver’s “Best Kept Secret” headed into the 2025 season — a secret the Broncos won’t be able to keep to themselves for much longer.

“This will likely be the last time Cooper is eligible to be considered a ‘secret’ as he’s destined to make a Pro Bowl and/or All-Pro team sooner rather than later,” Holder wrote on May 19. “He’s logged 19.5 sacks over the last two years and ranked 13th among edge-rushers with 61 total pressures during the 2024 regular season, per Pro Football Focus. The 2021 seventh-round pick has exceeded expectations and became one of the main reasons the Broncos were a top-three defense in points allowed last season.”

If Cooper truly does become one of the NFL’s elite edge rushers — if he’s not already — getting him at an average $15 million salary over the next 4 seasons would be at around half of what the NFL’s top 10 edge rushers are being paid in 2025.

From Seventh Round Pick to Massive NFL Contract

Cooper was in the final season of a 4-year, $3.58 million contract he signed with the Broncos after he was selected in the seventh round (No. 238 overall) of the 2021 NFL draft out of Ohio State.

Cooper was one of two edge rusher out of Ohio State selected by the Broncos in 2021 alongside Baron Browning, who the Broncos took in the third round (No. 105 overall).

Denver traded Browning to the Arizona Cardinals the same day Cooper signed his new contract.

Cooper has shown he’s an elite NFL player before 2024, when he had 58 tackles, 10.5 sacks, 11 TFL and 20 QB hits. In 2023, he had 72 tackles, 55 QB pressures and a team-leading 8.5 sacks.

Cooper’s great year in 2024 was overshadowed by a pair of NFL All-Pro teammates on the defensive front with edge rusher Nik Bonitto and defensive end Zach Allen — not to mention NFL Defensive Player of the Year Patrick Surtain II at cornerback.

Broncos Investing Heavily in Defense

Cooper’s deal was the second massive extension the Broncos signed in a short period of time in 2024, following the 4-year, $96 million contract extension Surtain signed just one month earlier.

Cooper would have been one of the most sought-after free agents in the NFL if the Broncos hadn’t signed him to an extension when they did. You can make an argument that signing Cooper at this point might have saved the Broncos a tremendous amount of money.

Bonitto should be up next — Spotrac has him projected to receive a 4-year, $92.8 million contract extension.