Although the exact date may be coincidental, there is no doubt that Denver Broncos GM George Paton likes to do business and get big-money contracts done around this time of year.
Over the past couple of years, Paton and the Broncos have struck some big deals either during training camp, right before the start of the season, or both. And there is one particular "tradition" that is worth monitoring as we approach September 4, specifically.
On September 4, 2024, the Denver Broncos agreed to a four-year contract extension with star cornerback Pat Surtain II. He went on to win NFL Defensive Player of the Year that year.
On September 4, 2025, the Broncos agreed to a four-year contract extension with Nik Bonitto just before the start of the season. Bonitto went on to finish 4th in Defensive Player of the Year voting.
Could it be that cornerback Riley Moss is in line to be the next Broncos player to get a big-money extension on this suddenly very intriguing date?
Riley Moss could be the next Denver Broncos player to get a big contract extension
Back when George Paton was first hired by the Denver Broncos as their general manager, he stated that their philosophy was going to be to draft, develop, and get guys to second contracts. It's rare for an NFL general manager to be able to go 3-for-3 on his first three draft classes with players in line for big-money deals, but that's exactly the scenario Paton has before him.
Paton and the Broncos gave out big-money deals to multiple players from each of those first two classes, not just Surtain and Bonitto. But there's something about the idea that those two September 4 deals were given to the best players from their respective classes.
It's the perfect time to do a deal for a variety of reasons.
The most important reason is the fact that signing a star player to a deal just before the season gets underway eliminates the distraction of the "contract year" while the player is in the midst of it. It completely takes the franchise tag off the table after the season and has clearly been successful for the Broncos, as both Surtain and Bonitto were in the mix for DPOY immediately after signing their deals.
In Surtain's case, he won it.
It's also important because it can serve as a monument of the culture this team is building. Again, Paton's philosophy has been to draft, develop, and get to second contracts. Riley Moss has certainly had his ups and downs as a starter, but he was clearly one of the most improved players on the team this offseason, and has played his way into a contract extension.
Another big reason it's important to get a deal like this done before the season is that the market resets when the salary cap resets. And if Moss has a huge year in 2026, the price is going to skyrocket.
More than just the price skyrocketing, the future percentage of the salary cap his average salary consumes goes up as well. With a Bo Nix contract extension hopefully coming at some point in the next year, the Broncos have to be cognizant of what percentage of the salary cap their other starters are taking up.
Right now, the Broncos would be investing in the future of Riley Moss as much as they would be paying for what he's already done for the team. And as ESPN recently noted, there are no fewer than three other cornerbacks in the NFL right now with contract situations to monitor.
Just like he has with Surtain and Bonitto, Paton could look like a genius for signing Moss to a contract that ultimately looks like a bargain in a few months.
There are absolutely some players you have to see through four years of a rookie deal before you make an investment in their future with the team. Riley Moss isn't one of them. Even though he led the NFL last season in penalty yardage, you buy into a player's projection and development. You buy into the highs as much as anything else, and Moss was tied for 1st in the NFL last season with 19 passes broken up.
We don't have a crystal ball, so we don't know for certain, but a solid guess would be that the Broncos try to get a long-term deal done with Riley Moss before the start of the season, and perhaps have it wrapped up by this new "holiday" of September 4.
That would make three years in a row of getting at least one draft pick from each of his first three classes locked in to a long-term deal. That's one of the clearest signs of organizational health you can have, and that type of thing matters to George Paton and Sean Payton.
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