The Denver Broncos may have to make a very tough decision about the contract of Demaryius Thomas in the coming weeks. What will they do?
The Denver Broncos have some tough roster decisions to make this offseason, but perhaps none more difficult than the one they face with Demaryius Thomas.
Troy Renck brought it up back in January that Thomas’ contract contains an interesting ‘wrinkle’.
"Thomas’ contract contains a $4 million option bonus due by the last day of the league year on March 14. If the Broncos decline to exercise it, the final two seasons of Thomas’ contracts are voided, making him a free agent. The dead money makes this interesting. It would be $4.4 million less a $1.33 million cap charge already absorbed for one-third of the bonus. Translation: the dead cap money would be $3.07 million. Is that a manageable figure?Troy Renck"
Okay, so the Broncos could save a bunch of money if they decline an option on Thomas’ contract. Big deal. It’s not going to happen…
…Right?
Almost a month after this contract information was brought to light, it became apparent that the Broncos had one of two decisions to make:
Either they decline the option on Thomas’ contract, or the final two years of his deal become guaranteed.
At least, that’s what it reads like in Nicki Jhabvala’s coverage of the Broncos’ cap situation:
"Receiver Demaryius Thomas carries an approximate $12 million cap charge, but his contract includes a $1 million option that will trigger the final two years of his deal. Should the Broncos decline the option, they’d eat $3.1 million in dead money and Thomas would be a free agent. Should the team exercise his option, it will face cap charges of about $12 million and $17.5 million over the next two seasons, unless the sides agree to restructure his deal.Nicki Jhabvala"
Well, that really changes everything, doesn’t it?
It’s not just that the Broncos have basically an opt-out in Thomas’ contract — they are looking at the possibility of a re-structure, re-negotiation, or flat out letting Thomas go.
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It’s hard to blame the Broncos for structuring Thomas’ contract this way. He’s a 30-year old receiver and while he’s still an effective player, they might have looked at the contract initially and thought this would be the right time to evaluate whether or not new blood was needed
With the $17.5 million cap number in 2019 being locked in if they accept the option, it seems like now would be the time to ‘get out’.
This would be a really unfortunate reality, and you have to wonder how this would impact the Broncos’ ability to pursue a player like Kirk Cousins if the top receiver on the team is gone. Not to mention, you have a lot of rumors floating around that the Broncos could also look to unload Emmanuel Sanders this offseason.
There are so many different factors at play here. Perhaps the Broncos and Thomas will be able to re-structure and not only save the team money, but also get Thomas back.
That seems like an optimistic outlook at this point, and that’s really unfortunate.
We may have seen the last of Thomas in a Broncos uniform.