According to Chris Tomasson, the Broncos have not initiated any extension negotiations with DL John Franklin-Myers and are instead focusing on possible deals with DL Zach Allen and LB Nik Bonitto.
Denver recently finalized a four-year, $92 million extension with WR Courtland Sutton and is shifting attention to their defensive side. All three players are entering the final year of their contracts and are set to be unrestricted free agents in 2026.
Back in March, Tomasson reported Allen is seeking $25 million per year on his next deal. The veteran lineman had an outstanding season for the Broncos and was a huge part of their success. Denver finished as a top-five defense in 2024.
In May, Tomasson also reported Denver was having discussions about an extension for Bonitto and could be looking for a deal “in excess of $20 million per season.”
It’s worth noting Bonitto reported for the start of offseason workouts on April 21st.
Allen, 27, is a former third-round pick of the Cardinals out of Boston College back in 2019. He finished out the final year of his four-year rookie deal worth $4.3 million.
The Broncos signed Allen to a three-year, $45.75 million deal in 2023 when he was testing the free agent market for the first time. He’s entering the final year of that deal and set to make a base salary of $12.74 million in 2025.
In 2024, Allen appeared in 16 games for the Broncos and recorded 61 total tackles, 15 tackles for loss, 8.5 sacks, one pass deflection and a safety.
Bonitto, 25, was a three-year starter at Oklahoma and earned second-team All-Big 12 honors in 2021 and was named second-team All-American in 2020. He’s a former second-round pick by the Broncos in the 2022 NFL Draft.
He’s entering the final year of a four-year, $5,801,891 rookie contract that includes a $1,399,557 signing bonus.
In 2024, Bonitto appeared in all 17 games for the Broncos and recorded 48 tackles, 16 tackles for loss, 13.5 sacks, one interception, four pass defenses, two forced fumbles, one fumble recovery, and scored two defensive touchdowns.
Predicting a contract extension for Zach Allen after Courtland Sutton's deal
After Courtland Sutton's contract extension, the Denver Broncos might turn their attention to extending Zach Allen. Sutton signed a four-year deal worth $92 million. It contains just $27 million in new guarantees, but if you add that to the $14 million that the receiver has coming this year, Sutton will have $41 in total guarantees.
Anyway, the Broncos aren't yet done with their extensions (let's hope). They've got a few other players who are due for deals on the defensive side of the ball. Nik Bonitto and Zach Allen are both in the last year of their deals and may get a new one from the front office.
Guys like Malcolm Roach and John Franklin-Myers are also in the last year of their deals and could get new ones, but we're going to focus on Zach Allen for a second. He led the NFL with 40 QB hits in 2024 and was simply outstanding. Well, what would a contract extension look like for the veteran?
Predicting a contract extension for defensive end Zach Allen
Allen has one more year left on his deal, and the contract he signed with the Broncos back in 2023 is worth $15,250,000 per year. This actually ranks as the 18th-richest in the league along the interior defensive line in terms of average value per year. Simply put, Allen has outperformed his deal and has earned a new one.
But just how much would he get on a new deal? In my opinion, it's a safe bet to assume that any extension for Allen for any length of time is going to be worth over $20 million per season. If Allen would want to get into the top-10 at his position, he'd need a deal worth $22.5 million per season. Both Daron Payne and Dexter Lawrence have deals worth this much.
If we go up a slot or two, we'd see DeForest Buckner at $23 million per year and Jefferson Simmons at $23.5 million per year. Above those two would be Quinnen Williams at $24 million per year and Derrick Brown at $24 million per year. Zach Allen could probably sniff around that amount but likely would not be able to touch $25 million per season.
He could get himself into the top-10 with a deal at $23 million per year, and the Broncos could do what they have done a lot before and offer a four-year deal, as that's the length that all of Courtland Sutton, Patrick Surtain II, Jonathon Cooper, and Quinn Meinerz have gotten. A four-year deal at $23 million per year does come out to the $92 million per year, so this could be the same as Courtland Sutton's.
But as we saw with Sutton, his new deal only came with $27 million in new guarantees, so if Allen were to get a deal worth around this amount, the guarantees would be much less. In my view, we could reasonably expect a three or four-year extension for Zach Allen worth over $20 million per season.
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