Broncos GM George Paton Delivering on Extension Promises to Players

The Denver Broncos have secured two extensions in the past week — Courtland Sutton and Zach Allen — bringing the team's total to six in 13 months. The Broncos still have more to go, but GM George Paton has stayed true to his word. 

Before the NFL Combine this offseason, Paton spoke about rewarding players who perform well for the Broncos. Paton said the Broncos should pay those consistent players and ensure they stay in town. That's what he has been proving. 

Between the two latest extensions, the Broncos have handed out $110 million in guaranteed money over the past week. Sutton received $41 million, comprising $14 million in salary for this year and $27 million in new money, while Allen secured $69 million in guaranteed compensation. 

While there is a lot made about total money, the guaranteed money is the bottom line. It represents the number the player will make no matter what (almost). The rest of the money is where the cap casualties come from. 

The Broncos' paying $110 million in guaranteed money to two of their star players brings their total guarantees in their six extensions in the last 13 months to $306 million. There should be a lot of thanks given to the new ownership, having deep pockets to hand out those guarantees. 

Even with other extensions needing to be completed, such as rush linebacker Nik Bonitto and defensive linemen John Franklin-Myers and Malcolm Roach, the Broncos are still in a great position to finalize them. Doing so would add further evidence that Paton stays true to his word, in more ways than one. 

Not to discredit the GM, but a lot also falls on head coach Sean Payton and his staff for getting the most out of these players. The Broncos are extracting career seasons out of them, which makes the decision to reward them even easier.

Given Paton's efforts in helping turn the Broncos around and continuing to reward his own, he should be considered for an award when the time comes. When Paton came to Denver as GM in 2021, it was on a six-year deal, so two years remain, which means an extension should come early next year. 

In the meantime, Paton needs to keep working with the Broncos' cap czar, Rich Hurtado, to get the rest of these extensions done. The Broncos can’t keep everyone, but Bonitto, Franklin-Myers, and Roach are easy decisions.

That leaves players like center Luke Wattenberg and kicker Wil Lutz out of the picture, at least for now. Wattenberg needs another year as a starter, and Lutz wouldn’t be overly expensive even if the Broncos wait. Neither player is a priority for an extension.

Paton has stayed true to his word. Now it's time to continue demonstrating the seriousness of keeping this team together and building toward Super Bowl contention. 

Bonitto seems to be waiting on other pass rushers to get their deals done, so Franklin-Myers and Roach should be up next. Franklin-Myers took a pay cut when he was traded to the Broncos and then delivered the best year of his career. If that doesn’t scream a necessity to be rewarded, then nothing does. 

Paton survived three big strikes that would get most general managers fired for his mistakes of the 2022 offseason and season, but he has paid his debt to the franchise, so to speak. He has done well with Payton to build a competitive team despite some salary-cap and draft-asset anchors, and needs to keep doing it.

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Paton doing what he says he's going to do can help attract players in free agency and even persuade them to accept less.