The Palm Beach sun smiled down on the Broncos brass in late March, the organization’s decision-makers plenty cheery at owners meetings in Florida because they had no reason for anything else.
Head coach Sean Payton and general manager George Paton had put together a free-agency plan, owner Greg Penner noted then, and executed it. Safety, tight end, linebacker. In came Talanoa Hufanga. In came Evan Engram. Linebacker Robert Spillane, who a source said the Broncos made a “competitive offer” to, ended up with the Patriots; the Broncos still nabbed standout Dre Greenlaw. Things went off without much of a hitch, and deep into May — depending on your outlook on Denver’s offensive weaponry — it’s hard to find fault with any aspect of the Broncos’ dealings this offseason.
That all said, the toughest offseason development for Denver over the past few months might’ve been a completely unrelated signing 1,760 miles east.
Meet 26-year-old Milton Williams, a former Philadelphia Eagle, perhaps the biggest beneficiary of a defensive-line free agent class fairly light on top-heavy talent. After the Patriots extended DL Christian Barnmore in 2024 to a four-year deal worth $20.75 million annually, Williams’ team set his free-agency floor at $20 million per year. And as a perfect storm converged between the Eagles’ Super Bowl run, Williams’ production and age, and a previously inflated market, Williams signed a monster four-year, $104 million deal with the Patriots.
In many ways, Williams’ deal — and other signings — created a complicated market for the Broncos. They’ll be confronted with a heap of questions around defensive-line extensions in the coming months. Circumstances are certainly different, and free agents typically command more money in open waters than in negotiations with one franchise. But it’d be difficult to justify, say, handing second-team All-Pro Zach Allen less money annually than Williams.
“If I’m representing Zach — yeah, I’m gonna try to get him more,” one league source told The Post.
In Allen, receiver Courtland Sutton and outside linebacker Nik Bonitto, the Broncos have three stars on expiring deals who could command upwards of $20 million a year. Cornerback Pat Surtain II and tackle Garett Bolles are already locked up on similar long-term deals. And if Denver wants to keep all, Penner will have to crack open the checkbook. Only four NFL teams (Detroit, San Francisco, Philadelphia and Tampa Bay) currently have five or more players making $20 million or more annually.
The Post reviewed a slew of relevant recent contracts and spoke with several league sources to look at market value for Allen, Sutton and Bonitto. Here’s a breakdown of a few deals (data from Spotrac) among players with somewhat similar profiles.
Zach Allen, DE/DL
| Name* | Age | Team | Year | Contract | Games | Sacks (Pressures) |
TFLS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zach Allen | 27 | Broncos | TBD | TBD | 16 | 8.5 (75) | 15 |
| Maxx Crosby | 27 | Raiders | 2025 | 3 yrs, $106.5m | 12 | 7.5 (54) | 17 |
| Chris Jones | 29 | Chiefs | 2024 | 5 yrs, $159m | 16 | 10.5 (75) | 13 |
| Milton Williams | 26 | Patriots | 2025 (FA) | 4 yrs, $104m | 17 | 5 (40) | 7 |
| Jonathan Greenard | 26 | Vikings | 2024 (FA) | 4 yrs, $76m | 15 | 12.5 (48) | 15 |
| Chase Young | 26 | Saints | 2025 (FA) | 3 yrs, $51m | 17 | 5.5 (66) | 8 |
* All figures tied to contract year. (Click here to view chart in mobile)
Allen’s value is the hardest to pinpoint, factoring in a fairly inconsistent market for defensive linemen and the breadth of his abilities to play both from the interior and off the edge. He also made a massive leap in 2024 relative to previous seasons. Still, he was one of the best pass-rushers in the league and is still fairly young, entering his age-28 season in 2025.
Young just commanded $17 million a year from the Saints and wasn’t nearly as effective at stopping the run or smacking opposing quarterbacks as Allen last year. Jones’ extension in 2024 — a perennial All-Pro on the interior — “set the floor” in some ways for defensive tackle Williams’ extension at $20 million per year, too, as Williams’ agent Rick Roberts told The Post. It’s likely any extension for Allen, despite operating as a DE, would have the same baseline.
Nik Bonitto, OLB
| Name* | Age | Team | Year | Contract | Games | Sacks (Pressures) |
TFLs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nik Bonitto | 25 | Broncos | TBD | TBD | 17 | 13.5 (57) | 16 |
| Brian Burns | 25 | Giants | 2024 | 5 yrs, $141m | 16 | 8 (40) | 16 |
| Andrew Van Ginkel | 29 | Vikings | 2025 | 1 yr, $23m | 17 | 11.5 (49) | 18 |
| Greg Rousseau | 25 | Bills | 2025 | 4 yrs, $80m | 16 | 8 (63) | 16 |
| Josh Sweat | 28 | Cardinals | 2025 (FA) | 4 yrs, $76m | 16 | 8 (54) | 9 |
| Jonathon Cooper | 27 | Broncos | 2024 | 4 yrs, $60m | 17 | 8.5 (55) | 8 |
* All figures tied to contract year. (Click here to view chart in mobile)
The market for outside linebackers is more straightforward, but Bonitto enters 2025 in an interesting spot: Still young at 25, coming off arguably a more productive season than any recent OLB around his age who signed an extension or free-agent deal. Rousseau is probably the best comp here as a former high draft pick (Rousseau first-round, Bonitto second-round). He signed an extension after his fourth year (Bonitto’s fourth year is upcoming) at the same age.
If the Broncos wait on extending Bonitto, though, and he racks up another heap of sacks in 2025, his value could break through the roof.
Courtland Sutton, WR
| Name* | Age | Team | Year | Contract | Games | Rec.-Yds-TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Courtland Sutton | 29 | Broncos | TBD | TBD | 17 | 81-1,081-8 |
| DK Metcalf | 27 | Steelers | 2025 (FA) | 4 yrs, $132m | 15 | 66-992-5 |
| Michael Pittman | 26 | Colts | 2024 | 3 yrs, $70m | 16 | 109-1,152-4 |
| Calvin Ridley | 29 | Titans | 2024 (FA) | 4 yrs, $92m | 17 | 76-1,016-8 |
| Chris Godwin | 28 | Buccaneers | 2025 | 3 yrs, $66m | 7 | 50-576-5 |
| Stefon Diggs | 31 | Patriots | 2025 (FA) | 3 yrs, $63m | 8 | 47-496-3 |
* All figures tied to contract year. (Click here to view chart in mobile)
Sutton’s value is the easiest to project, with a fairly ready-made comparison in Godwin, who inked a free-agent deal worth $23 million annually in 2024 after posting nearly identical numbers in ’23 to Sutton last year. His value would likely sink lower in negotiating solely with Denver. Pittman’s 2024 extension, when the 26-year-old signed for $23.3 million annually after a 109-catch season, is a solid reference point.
The receiver market, though, has exploded in recent years. The 49ers’ Brandon Aiyuk, coming off a 1,342-yard season in 2023, inked an extension worth $30 million annually. The Bengals’ Ja’Marr Chase, arguably the best wideout in the league, just re-upped with Cincinnati for $40 million a year. And Sutton sits in a fluid space, on the fringes of presenting a resume as a WR1.
“I’ll put it this way,” a league source told The Post, speaking on WR deals. “$20 million-$25 million is the new $10 million-$15 million.”
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