If we’re looking for a theme for Denver Broncos star wide receiver Courtland Sutton in 2025, the words “New Year, New Me,” come to mind.
Those are the vibes coming out of Englewood, Colorado, after Sutton showed up for the first day of offseason workouts after he stayed away in 2024 over a contract dispute. Following the second 1,000-yard season of Sutton’s career and the Broncos’ first playoff appearance since 2015, things are off to a much better start.
“Courtland Sutton was among those in attendance Monday at the team’s first workout of the new season,” 9News Denver’s Mike Klis wrote on April 21. “The Broncos’ top receiver stayed in Florida and skipped the voluntary offseason program last year to protest his contract that had two years and $27.5 million left on his deal. He’s actually in a more tenuous contract situation this year — one year and $14 million — but there is now much more kumbaya between the parties.”
While Sutton doesn’t have the numbers to put himself among the NFL’s upper tier of wide receivers in terms of annual salary — around $30 million per year — he could almost certainly leap into the Top 15 or Top 10. Spotrac has Sutton’s market value projected at a 3-year, $79.6 million contract which would pay him approximately $26.6 million per year.
Price Only Continues to Climb for Sutton
It’s tough to envision the Broncos continuing their ascent through the AFC without Sutton having another great year, and the longer Denver waits the price only continues to climb.
Sutton was a second round pick (No. 40 overall) by the Broncos in the 2018 NFL draft out of SMU and made his lone Pro Bowl appearance in 2019 with 72 receptions for 1,112 yards and 6 touchdowns.
Paired with rookie quarterback Bo Nix in 2024, Sutton had a career high 81 receptions for 1,081 yards and 8 touchdowns and is now in the final season of the 4-year, $60.8 million contract extension he signed in November 2021.
USA Today’s Michael Middlehurst-Schwartz believes the Broncos should prioritize Sutton’s new deal this offseason.
“After skipping the voluntary portion of the offseason program last year, Sutton reported for mandatory workouts once the team agreed to terms on a restructured contract that featured a short-term pay bump,” Middlehurst-Schwartz wrote on February 22. “Now, he likely wants more out of Denver given he’s due just $14 million next season, a relatively modest sum for a player who single-handedly powered the receiving corps with 81 catches, 1,081 receiving yards and eight touchdowns. An extension could shrink his $20.2 million cap hit for 2025 and ensure that Bo Nix’s top target will remain in place while the Broncos try to build up the roster’s skill-position talent.”
Broncos Could Add Another WR Threat in 2025 NFL Draft
While the Broncos have a more pressing need at running back in the first round of the NFL draft, there’s a chance they could be pressed into a “best player available” scenario with the No. 20 overall pick if Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty or North Carolina running back Omarion Hampton aren’t available. That scenario could land them a wide receiver in the first round.
The Broncos last took a wide receiver in the first round when they selected Alabama’s Jerry Jeudy at No. 15 overall in the 2020 NFL draft.
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