Multiple Denver Broncos, including rush linebacker Nik Bonitto, wide receiver Courtland Sutton, and defensive linemen Zach Allen and John Franklin-Myers, are in line for extensions. Each of them is entering a contract year.
Broncos GM George Paton and head coach Sean Payton addressed Bonitto and Sutton at the NFL Combine two weeks ago, but Allen went unmentioned, and Franklin-Myers only recently made it clear he wants a new deal.
Word leaked only a few days ago that Allen is seeking upwards of $25 million per year in a new deal. And when the Broncos handed out an extension to D.J. Jones this week, who was hours away from being a free agent, Allen and Franklin-Myers took notice.
Allen posted on X in support of Jones.
Franklin-Myers also made some social media posts about his contract situation. He also reposted others' on his contract situation. Although the signals were passive-aggressive, he made it clear that he wants a new deal.
Both players deserve an extension, and the good news is that the Broncos can still work out new contracts. With Allen and Franklin-Myers in the final year of their respective contracts, their extensions would kick in for the 2026 season, so their salary cap hit for 2025 wouldn’t increase. If the Broncos did it right, they could even lower both players' cap hits for the 2025 season.
While we don’t know what the NFL's 2026 salary cap ceiling will be or what the cap hits will be for Jones and the newly signed Dre Greenlaw and Talanoa Hufanga, the Broncos will still be in a great position. With an estimated $131 million in salary cap space next year, getting a deal done with Allen and Franklin-Myers would still leave Denver with $90-plus million to work with.
With Sutton and Allen on void years for 2026, the Broncos have five players under contract with a salary cap hit over $10 million. However, Greenlaw, Hufanga, and Jones will likely fall into that category once the contract details emerge.
The best news is the Broncos don’t have to worry about an inflated quarterback contract, which makes it easier for them to pay Allen and Franklin-Myers, even with the free-agent moves they've already made.
The Broncos need to take advantage of Bo Nix being on a rookie contract. The team has three more years of cost control and a fifth-year option, meaning it doesn't have to worry about an extension kicking in until after the 2028 season. This matters in how the Broncos structure the contracts, especially with Hufanga, Greenlaw, and Jones on three-year deals.
The Broncos are also set to shed the contracts of offensive linemen Ben Powers and Mike McGlinchey over the next two years. This again would help with how Denver can structure the deals of Allen and Franklin-Myers to work around the salary cap, even with a lot of space estimated in 2026 and 2027.
Bottom Line
Simply put, there isn’t a salary cap obstacle to explain why the Broncos can’t get extensions done with Allen and Franklin-Myers to keep their core defensive line group together for the next few years, except for Malcolm Roach.
The Broncos can do that and still manage the extensions of Bonitto and Sutton and have plenty of cap space to work with to add to the roster next year. After dealing with Russell Wilson's dead cap hit over the past two years, the Broncos are in an excellent position to extend these players and be in a good position with the salary cap for years to come.
Paton values rewarding his own, and Allen and Franklin-Myers deserve that after each delivered a career year for the Broncos.
