The Broncos have made perhaps one of their easiest decisions of the offseason.
Denver exercised the fifth-year option on All-Pro cornerback Pat Surtain II’s rookie contract on Tuesday, keeping him under contract through 2025.
Surtain, the ninth overall pick in 2021, will earn $6.6 million ($3.5 million guaranteed) in 2024, according to Over The Cap. But his salary of $19.8 million in 2025 will be fully guaranteed.
Considered one of the best cornerbacks in the league, Surtain made his second straight Pro Bowl appearance after recording 69 tackles and 12 passes defended in 2023. The former Alabama star also allowed a 59.3% completion percentage when targeted.
Surtain, who will be an unrestricted free agent in 2026, is likely to become one of the highest paid cornerbacks in NFL history. Pro Football Focus and Over the Cap analyst Brad Spielberger told The Denver Post that Surtain could command an annual salary between $24.5 million and $27 million, which would push him past Cleveland’s Denzel Ward (five years, $100.5 million) and Green Bay’s Jaire Alexander (four years, $84 million) in 2022, and Miami’s Jalen Ramsey (five years, $100 million) in 2020.
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It’s still uncertain who will start on the opposite side of Surtain this season. The Broncos signed former Steelers cornerback Levi Wallace to a one-year deal on Monday, setting up competition between him, Riley Moss and Damarri Mathis. At the same time, Denver could find a long-term answer at cornerback in the first round of the NFL Draft on Thursday.
Broncos make Wilson trade official: It’s official. There will be another Wilson playing quarterback in Denver. The Broncos announced Tuesday their trade for New York Jets’ Zach Wilson. Denver sent a 2024 sixth-round pick (No. 203) to the Jets in exchange for Wilson and a 2024 seventh-round pick (No. 256). Denver’s quarterback room features Wilson, a second overall pick in 2021, Jarrett Stidham and Ben DiNucci. But there’s still a chance the Broncos add a rookie to the mix through the draft.
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