The Denver Broncos came within one game of the Super Bowl in the 2025 NFL Season, and had Bo Nix not broken his ankle in the AFC Divisional Round victory, it's very likely that the Broncos would have advanced to the Super Bowl.
It's clear that this team is right on the cusp of winning it all, and it's not a stretch to say that the Jaylen Waddle trade might be enough to push this team over the edge. Waddle gives the offense precisely what that unit was missing, and a returning top-5 defense is really the cherry on top.
Additionally, Broncos do have a ton of high-dollar contracts, and this isn't a bad thing, as they have a plethora of players worthy of being paid top-dollar. This does create future issues, though, and when we look just one year ahead, it's clear that the 2026 NFL Season could truly be Super Bowl or bust for the franchise.
Denver Broncos are going to be tight up against the cap next offseason
According to Over The Cap, the Broncos are slated to have just $2 million in cap space for the 2027 NFL Offseason. That would rank as the 8th-fewest in the entire league. This figures a projected 2027 salary cap of $327,000,000. For 2026, the salary cap was set at $301,200,000. That represented a jump from $279,200,000 from the prior season.
That was a jump of $22 million, so it's not a stretch to think that the salary cap could jump nearly $26 million for 2027. Having $2 million in cap space would give the Broncos a chance to do, just about, nothing.
Now, yes, there are ways for a team to increase their cap space, but that would also likely require the Broncos to part with key veterans. For example, the Broncos could cut both Courtland Sutton and Mike McGlinchey with post-June 1st designations in 2027 and save a significant amount.
But when you do that, you remove two quality players from the roster. Another example would be DJ Jones. The Broncos could trade him and save nearly $10 million. When you look at the potential roster moves that the team may have to make next offseason, you really can't avoid not parting with key players.
This is where drafting and developing become so important, as no NFL team can pay everyone, and there will come a time when the team needs to hit on some rookie contracts. The Broncos are approaching this window, and it also proves how hard it is to sustain Super Bowl teams year-over-year.
Another huge thing to note with 2027 is that Nix would be eligible for a contract extension. Nix potentially signing a deal worth $60 million wouldn't cripple the team's financials for that season, as contracts are typically structured with the higher cap hits being in future years.
Denver would still have flexibility to extend players, as extensions typically lower cap hits, but not having much cap to work with would still largely limit what this team would be able to do. It's clear that the 2026 season for Denver is truly Super Bowl or bust.
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