A little financial aid from one Denver Broncos captain to another, if indirectly, spurred the record-setting extension that cornerback Patrick Surtain II officially signed Wednesday.
ESPN’s Field Yates reported the Broncos restructured the contract of wide receiver Courtland Sutton, creating $9.5 million in salary cap space. Per 9NEWS’ Mike Klis, the team converted $11.875 million of Sutton’s $13 million base salary for 2024 into a bonus.
“May have helped squeeze in the new Surtain contract,” Klis noted.
Sutton, 29, is entering the penultimate year of the $60 million deal consummated in 2021. Following a protracted spring holdout, the former Pro Bowler agreed in July to a revision that includes an additional $1.5 million in performance-based incentives — but no new money or guaranteed cash.
“I think it was made pretty clear that this is home for me, and this is where I wanted to be,” Sutton said on July 30. “I’m grateful that we were able to come to some form of an agreement to be able to help both of us move forward.”
Surtain, 24, inked a four-year, $96 million pact making him the highest-paid defensive back in NFL history. The arrangement reportedly contains $77.5 million in total guarantees and $39.5 million to be paid out within the first nine months.
“First off, it’s like a huge burden off my shoulders. I’m honestly just very relieved from it,” Surtain said Wednesday upon putting pen to paper. “Just to be able to sign and seal that deal is a blessing. Being a captain for this team means a lot. It shows how much this organization believes in me, this team believes in me, and I don’t take that for granted. I’m going to give everything I have on the field this year.”
The Broncos found themselves with negative cap room — more than $2.7 million, according to OverTheCap.com — prior to extending Surtain.á
