The Denver Broncos have been handing out one big contract after another in 2024 it feels like, and the latest beneficiary of their benevolence is starting left tackle Garett Bolles.
The Broncos signed Bolles to a four-year extension worth $82 million in total money with $42 million in guarantees. Bolles is the third player on the Broncos offensive line to receive a contract worth over $80 million in total money from the team since new head coach Sean Payton arrived. Mike McGlinchey and Quinn Meinerz also received hefty contracts from the Broncos, Meinerz getting his deal done earlier this year.
Now that the Broncos have handed out new contracts to the likes of Bolles, Meinerz, Pat Surtain II, and Jonathon Cooper, who is next?
3 Broncos players next in line for big contract extensions after Garett Bolles move
1. Courtland Sutton, wide receiver
If you look at the Denver Broncos' list of free agents in 2025, it's diminished significantly over the course of the last few months. The Broncos took their best guys off the board (Bolles, Meinerz, Cooper) and got out ahead of Pat Surtain who was slated to hit the final year of his rookie deal in 2025.
With that in mind, the Broncos probably don't have to overpay any of the guys currently left in their 2025 free agent crop, but they can start looking ahead to players whose contracts expire after the 2025 season. That list includes wide receiver Courtland Sutton, who already reworked his deal with the Broncos twice this year and has a cap hit north of $20 million next year.
Even though the Broncos have ample cap space (yes, that remains true even after all the extensions), they could free up even more space by giving Sutton a new contract. And at this point, it's hard to imagine why they wouldn't. Sutton has been a huge piece for this team, a key leader, and someone who has helped Bo Nix develop tremendously. Not to mention, the Broncos have flat-out refused to trade him despite strong offers.
Sutton should be the most obvious to get an extension next.
2. Zach Allen, defensive line
Another player who is slated to become a free agent in 2026 is defensive lineman Zach Allen, and that actually highlights something that's pretty important to note as of right now.
The Denver Broncos' defensive line, one of the most improved units in the entire league this season, is all slated to be gone by the end of the 2025 campaign as of right now. DJ Jones, who has played just 40 percent of the snaps this season, is slated for 2025 free agency. All of Zach Allen, John Franklin-Myers, and Malcolm Roach are set to hit free agency in 2026.
The Broncos would be wise to get out ahead of that a little bit by re-signing the best guy they have, and that's Zach Allen. Allen has already kicked the can down the road on his current deal with void years beyond 2025, so the Broncos are likely fully prepared to give him a substantial raise at some point after this season.
3. Nik Bonitto, EDGE
While the previous two players are vested veterans in line for their third NFL contracts already, the Broncos also have a handful of young players up for second contracts with their rookie deals quickly coming to a close.
There is nobody more pressing at this point in that category than 2022 second-round pick Nik Bonitto. Bonitto is closing in on the NFL lead in sacks (11.0 through 13 games this season) and just had a pick-six against the Cleveland Browns. Bonitto was one of the Broncos' best overall pass rushers last year as well and looks like he's developed into a true every-down player off the edge.
It's not going to be cheap to keep Bonitto around, but the Broncos will absolutely be able to take care of him and keep a key piece to their stellar defense in place for the foreseeable future.