Broncos LB Brandon Marshall was a high priority

The Denver Broncos clearly thought a lot of LB Brandon Marshall, who was re-signed to a huge contract extension worth $20M in guaranteed money…

While fans await news on star pass rusher Von Miller, the Denver Broncos awarded inside linebacker Brandon Marshall with a brand-new contract extension on Tuesday. Marshall’s deal includes $20 million in guaranteed money, $15 million of which was guaranteed at signing.

Though the deal has been reported as a four-year extension, it’s actually a five-year contract because Marshall will play this season on his RFA tender value at $2.553 million.

Chalk up another win for John Elway.

As was alluded to in a post here about the impact of Paxton Lynch’s new contract, the Broncos are able to invest in their defense with a quarterback on a rookie deal that is team-controlled for five seasons.

Marshall’s new contract comes in an offseason that has been nothing short of incredible for him. He’s been showing up to OTAs all offseason, both voluntary and mandatory, despite the fact that he wasn’t even technically under contract.

It was basically a working holdout for Marshall, who in 2016 has already won a Super Bowl, been to the White House, gotten his Super Bowl ring, had a day named after him (seriously), and hosted his inaugural football camp. Now, he’s signed a new contract with the team that believed in him two-and-a-half years ago.

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The Jacksonville Jaguars cut Marshall twice after picking him in the fifth round of the 2012 NFL Draft. He was signed to the Broncos’ practice squad and active roster during the 2013 season, after he’d contemplated his life after football, thinking the second time he was cut from Jacksonville could have been the end of the line.

He kept believing in the player he knew he could be, and with a little help (he says) from Adam Gase and Peyton Manning, he was promoted off of the Broncos’ practice squad onto the active roster, and his impact was almost immediately apparent.

With the season-ending injury for Danny Trevathan in 2014, Marshall led the Broncos in tackles. He had more than 100 tackles in both 2014 and 2015, and it was clear that Denver made him a high priority.

He was such a high priority, in fact, that the Broncos let Trevathan walk this offseason to Chicago, where he is making $6.125 million per season over the course of his new contract. The Broncos thought enough of Marshall to give him an average of $8 million per season.

Trevathan also received $12 million in guarantees from the Bears while Marshall received $20 million guaranteed, $15 million at the time of signing. So much for John Elway being cheap, right?

This is such an interesting move, one that makes Marshall the 7th highest paid inside linebacker in the NFL. The Broncos drafted Danny Trevathan while Marshall came in as a street free agent.

Elway didn’t discriminate there.

Marshall has been a model of consistency for the Broncos over the past two seasons, showing a trajectory that puts him as one of the best players on the best defense in the game. In fact, as Broncos Vice President of PR Patrick Smythe pointed out on Twitter, no player on the front seven of this vaunted defense has played more snaps the last two seasons than Marshall.

There’s no question that the Broncos are a better team when Marshall is on the field. He is also one in a growing list of players that has proven themselves worthy of big money after being an afterthought.

The Broncos gave a massive contract extension to cornerback Chris Harris Jr. (5 years, $42.5 million) and running back C.J. Anderson (4 years, $18 million) who were undrafted free agents. Combined with the $32 million deal for Marshall, that’s $92.5 million in contracts given out to players who weren’t drafted by the team.

And yet, these players have grown from within the system. The Broncos have rewarded guys who have played well, just not all of them. Paying Marshall was a great move by John Elway, and one that will pay huge dividends for a long time.