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Mapping Out a Potential Sean Payton Extension Timeline

Nov 2, 2025; Houston, Texas, USA; Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton before the first half against the Houston Texans at NRG Stadium. Sean Thomas-Imagn Images

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Mapping Out a Potential Sean Payton Extension Timeline

Originally posted on Denver Broncos on SI
By Erick Trickel | Last updated May 31, 2026 9:46 PM ET

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The Denver Broncos got GM George Paton's five-year extension done, which brings head coach Sean Payton's future more into focus. Payton has two years left on the initial deal he signed in 2023, and there's no denying how good a job he has done in Denver, nor that he is worthy of an extension.

While the Broncos could look to get an extension done now with Payton, coaching contracts aren’t as restrictive as player contracts because there's no coaching salary cap. There are still two years left on Payton’s contract, so the Broncos should wait until next year to get an extension done.

Payton will likely have a timeline similar to the Paton extension. The Broncos will likely handle their negotiations behind the scenes and finish hammering it out after the 2027 NFL draft, since Paton signed his extension on May 8, right after the 2026 draft.

How much money Payton will get in an extension comes with plenty of variables, including team performance and whether the Broncos are able to win the Super Bowl this year, but, again, coaching contracts aren’t as restrictive, nor as commonly open to the public, so reporting on them is often inaccurate or lacks details.

Extension Timeline

Payton will turn 63 in December, and barring health issues, he still has a good 5-10 years left as a head coach. The bigger conversation for the Broncos would be the length of his contract, more than the cost.

Do the Broncos offer a four-year contract extension to put Paton and Payton on the same timeline? Paton's deal keeps him in Denver through the 2030 season.

The Broncos could prefer to have Payton's next contract expire in a different year so they don’t have to work out their general manager and head coach contracts at the same time.

Payton is Deserving

At the moment, Payton deserves an extension, barring anything off-field or a complete fall-off this season, where the Broncos are a train wreck. It would take something extreme for that to change, given the job he's done.

Payton has taken the Broncos from being a borderline laughingstock to nearly AFC champions in three years, and you don't often see a turnaround like that in pro sports. Is he a perfect coach?

No, but there's no such thing. Even the best coaches of all time had their flaws, just as Payton has his. That doesn’t mean he hasn’t done a great job for the Broncos. He deserves an extension to remain as the Broncos' head coach for seven-plus years.

Protégé: HC in Waiting?

With Payton's advancing age, Denver could start looking for someone to be his protégé to grow and wait in the wings to take over when he does call it a career. However, that could still be 10 years down the road, so it may be a bit early to plan around such a possibility.

Some have suggested that Denver should let Payton walk after his contract is up and somehow manage to keep Davis Webb as his replacement. However, there are two problems with that: first, Payton has shown he deserves an extension; second, Webb has a good shot at landing a head-coaching job after this season and won't make it to 2028, when Payton’s current contract expires.

Tapping Webb as Payton's eventual successor would be a huge show of faith in a first-time offensive coordinator and play-caller. However, by 2028, there would be a lot more answers about Webb as a coach. Still, two years is a long time to wait in the NFL, and it'd be awkward to plan for that given what Payton has done for the team.

The Takeaway

The most reasonable and probable outcome is that the Broncos get an extension done with Payton next year, unless he doesn't want it or the wheels fall off this coming season. Health-willing, Payton has many years left as a coach, but for the next nine months or so, the topic of an extension can be put on the back burner.