Good morning, Broncos Country. Several days ago, it was announced that the Denver Broncos were giving star cornerback Patrick Surtain a $5 million raise in 2026. Along with that comes a chance for Surtain to earn another $5 million in 2027 if he makes the Pro-Bowl or earns All-Pro honors this upcoming season.
How that all figured into the Broncos’ salary cap situation was unknown. That has now been clarified. According to Parker Gabriel of the Denver Post, the Broncos did some salary cap gymnastics
taking portions of Surtain’s base salary over the next few years and converting them to option bonuses.
In turn, the Broncos will receive a slight boost cap space in ‘26 and in future seasons. According to OverTheCap, the Broncos now have nearly $30 million dollars in cap space. What they choose to do with that looms large, but my guess is a big portion of that will be rolled over into 2027 where they have significantly less space.
As I mentioned in my article on Riley Moss and Ja’Quan McMillian, Denver will have some big decisions to make with a hefty slate of key free agents set to hit the market after the end of the upcoming season. Additionally, quarterback Bo Nix will be eligible for an extension at the beginning of the 2027 league year. While that doesn’t have to be addressed immediately, it will eventually be a significant factor in Denver’s future team building endeavors.
The clarification on the Surtain financials indicates the Broncos have some more flexibility this year to potentially add another player into the mix via if they so choose. Though my guess is most of it will be allocated towards rollover or be utilized in any potential extension for several in-house candidates whose deals are set to expire at the end of the season.
What do you think, Broncos Country? How should Denver utilize their $30 million in cap space? Give me your thoughts in the comments section. As always, thank you for reading. Here is today’s slate of articles for Horse Tracks.
