With Micah Parsons having received a massive contract extension, the price to retain Broncos' OLB Nik Bonitto just got a lot more expensive. Parsons was traded to the Green Bay Packers on Thursday and will sign a four-year deal worth a whopping $188 million.
That comes out to $47 million per year, which easily makes him the highest-paid non-quarterback in the history of the NFL, and it might stay that way for a little while. Denver has their own top-tier pass-rusher in Nik Bonitto, who appears to be in line to receive a deal from the Broncos soon.
However, with Parsons price tag now know, did Bonitto just get that much more expensive?
Micah Parsons' contract extension just made Nik Bonitto a little bit richer
With Parsons' contract, here are the highest-paid pass-rushers in the NFL on a per-year basis:
Micah Parsons - $47 million
TJ Watt - $41 million
Myles Garrett - $40 million
Danielle Hunter - $35.6 million
Maxx Crosby - $35.5 million
Nick Bosa - $34 million
Trey Hendrickson - $29 million
Josh Hines-Allen - $28.25 million
Brian Burns - $28.2 million
Montez Sweat - $24.5 million
You have to wonder where Nik Bonitto falls in this group, as he is absolutely getting more than someone like Montez Sweat, and he could get more than Brian Burns, Josh Hines-Allen, and Trey Hendrickson. If we take the average of the top-10 highest-paid here, it would come out to $34,305,000 per season.
If that is what Nik Bonitto and his agent are shooting for, he would come in just above Nick Bosa and be the sixth-highest-paid EDGE rusher in the NFL. If I had to give my own guess, I would say he absolutely hits the $30 million per year mark, but it would be hard for me to envision getting more than that.
Denver's recent extensions have typically been for four seasons, so a four-year deal worth around $120 million is likely where Nik Bonitto ends up on an extension from the Denver Broncos.