The angst that had enveloped Broncos Country was at least temporarily eased this week when Denver pulled off a trade that brings standout wide receiver Jaylen Waddle to the Broncos from Miami for next season. The trade for their new offensive weapon cost the Broncos the 30th pick in the first round and a third rounder as well. Not too bad.
Waddle comes relatively cheap, too. His 2026 salary cap hit is less than $5 million, which still leaves the Broncos with around $17 million in cap space for the upcoming season. (He’d better produce, however. Waddle’s 2027 cap hit skyrockets to $27 million. Gulp.) The question is, what will they do with that extra 2026 cash?
Payton and Paton – head coach Sean and general manager George – could still be in the market for another running back. Bringing back J.K. Dobbins is fine, but the chances he stays healthy all season are slim, and most Broncos fans don’t believe second-year man RJ Harvey is up to the task of sharing carries. Maybe the Broncos brass does. Or maybe they have another move up their sleeves?
Or maybe there’s another plan afoot.
Since everyone with an iPhone has shared an opinion on the subject, how about this one from out of left field: Maybe the Broncos and their brain trust are already saving their money for Bo Nix?
Sure, the soon-to-be third year signal caller is currently still on his rookie contract, which is great news for the Broncos, of course. Teams in this situation have the most roster and payroll flexibility, and oftentimes are able to load up and make a deep postseason run, like New England did this season. It’s an enviable position to be in, even if the Broncos don’t appear all that eager to exploit the advantage at the moment.
Nix’s current deal pays him roughly $4.5 mil for this year and next before they even have to start talking about a new contract. The Oregon product couldn’t become a free agent until 2028 if the Broncos played out the whole string.
When – not if – Nix gets his new deal, presumably two seasons from now, it will likely be in the neighborhood of six years at $50 mil per. That’s quite a bump… and a big chunk of the team’s salary cap. This is when the Broncos will have to get really serious about watching what they spend for the rest of the roster. For example, this season, the salary cap for each team is just over $300 mil. Can you imagine paying one player one-sixth of your entire payroll? Some teams already are.
But there’s another way to look at things.
In baseball, when a young breakout star is projected to be able to demand a huge jump in salary when he becomes eligible for salary arbitration, teams often plan ahead. Sometimes they sign the player to a new contract before he’s eligible, in order to get more team-friendly numbers down the road. For example, the Rockies wisely did this with Gold Glove shortstop Ezequiel Tovar. He’s under contract until 2031. His current salary is “just” $5.2 million, but that will gradually escalate to $23 mil in 2031. (By that point, he’ll likely have been traded away, but that’s another column.)
What if the Broncos decided to approach Nix’s agents with a new contract this spring, and offered him that same $300 million… but spread out over the next eight years instead of six?
A six-year, $300 million contract would cost Denver the aforementioned $50 mil per. But an eight-year, $300 mil contract would cost the Broncos an average of $37.5 per.
Nix would get all his money, and the Broncos would get $12.5 mil more per season to spend on the rest of the roster.
If Nix makes roughly $10 mil over the next two seasons combined, and the Broncos are offering him $37.5 per over the next eight instead, don’t you think he’d take that, knowing that he’s also doing his team a solid (as they promise to spend more on bringing in more offensive weapons)?
Something to think about… although it’s still not very likely. Those who are guessing that Denver’s currently still looking hard at the trade market are probably right. Maybe another running back or veteran inside linebacker will be brought in. Either way, it won’t be a totally quiet, Colorado Rockies-type off season at Dove Valley.
Then again, planning ahead is never a bad idea.
Strike 3: Are the Broncos saving their cap space for Bo Nix? Mile High Sports.
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