The Broncos have been busy locking up talent over the past six months. This past offseason they locked up star defensive lineman Zach Allen to a four-year, $102 million contract. Veteran wide receiver Courtland Sutton also received an extension at four years and $92 million. Electric pass rusher Nik Bonnito also benefitted from Denver's lock up spree, to the tune of four years and $106 million.
And now center Luke Wattenberg has completed the quartet with his own extension. According to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network, the Broncos and Wattenberg have agreed to a four-year, $48 million deal. Based on those reported terms Wattenberg will tie Erik McCoy for the 6th-highest paid center in the NFL.
Luke Wattenberg's 2025 Vaulted His Value
The deal is a reward for a player who moved into the starting lineup last year and has followed up a strong 2024 with a solid 2025 where he hasn't missed a game. Prior to this season I had speculated that Wattenberg could be an extension target for the Broncos, speculating at the time he could be due for an $8 million per year pay day.
Talk about a fantastic platform year. I had Wattenberg at $8M APY prior to the start of this season. But check out the PY projection (Right in line with his deal). https://t.co/82tK3Z9QjC pic.twitter.com/hbrjpIcIWK
— Josh Queipo (@JoshQueipo_NFL) November 26, 2025
The prevailing comparable contract at the time was Ted Karras' 2022 deal. The terms of that deal were three years and $18 million at a $6 million per year average salary (APY). More than halfway through the 2025 season Wattenberg has juiced that APY projection by 50%. And he has a new comp that drives that increase.
Player (Season) | Age | Draft Round | Snaps | PFF Pass Block Grade | Pressures Allowed | Pressure Rate Allowed | True Pass Set Pressure Rate Allowed | PFF Run Block Grade | PFF Gap Run Block Grade | PFF Zone Run Block Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Luke Wattenberg (2025) | 28.0 | 5 | 1986 | 65.0 | 15 | 2.18% | 3.21% | 68.4 | 74.7 | 57.8 |
Lloyd Cushenberry III (2024) | 26.8 | 3 | 1070 | 76.4 | 14 | 2.16% | 4.20% | 72.4 | 70.1 | 78.0 |
*Note the counting stats for Wattenberg's 2025 are an extrapolation of his current performance over a full 17-game season
Cushenberry's deal with the Titans was for $12.5 million per year. He was able to leverage a free agent market with a few things going for him that Wattenberg did not have. His draft pedigree was better - and draft priors almost never die. Cushenberry was also a more decorated run blocker. But mostly he had a longer track record of success with almost 2.5 times more career snaps than Wattenberg at the time he signed his deal.
The Broncos' Smart Structure Strategy
What is interesting with this deal is that it follows a pattern with Denver of getting an extra year on contracts with no downside risk for the team. With an exploding salary cap conventional wisdom on the player's side is to aim for three-year contracts. These typically allow the player to maximize their fully guaranteed money while also getting back to the market in short order.
Contract years without guaranteed money attached are effectively team options. Players have no security attached to those years and if the team opts to keep the player on it usually means the salary is at a discount on what the player can get on the open market. It is notable that Denver has been able to tack on an unguaranteed fourth year in all of these recent deals. It provides the team extra security without any downside risk.
The exact details and structure of the Wattenberg deal are not yet public. But looking at the 2029 salaries of Allen ($25.5 million), Sutton ($26.5 million) and Bonitto ($26.5 million), as a percent of a 2029 salary cap that conservatively could be $375 million would make those bargains even as Allen and Sutton would be in their 30's. The equivalent of those salaries in today's dollars are all under $20 million per year.
Ultimately, the Broncos are more than happy to reward their best players with long-term extensions. It's a positive byproduct of their smart free agent acquisitions and draft choices. But they follow up those smart decisions with a strong extension strategy that yields additional benefits for years to come.