NFL Brass: Broncos Believe Bo Nix is 'Ready for Primetime'

When the NFL released the 2025 regular-season schedule on Wednesday, it was no surprise to see the Denver Broncos handed twice as many primetime games as they received last year. Breaking that eight-year playoff drought has much to do with the Broncos being moved back into the national spotlight again. 

But if we dig down to the core of what changed the Broncos' debilitating losing narrative, this team might still be on the outside looking in had Bo Nix not landed so softly in head coach Sean Payton’s arms. 

Furthermore, the Broncos' four primetime games owe much to the box office draw Nix is becoming these days. He's rapidly morphed into a must-see football attraction. 

9NEWS' Mike Klis asked NFL Broadcast vice president Onnie Bose whether Nix's emergence was the catalyst for the Broncos' return to the television limelight.

"Sean Payton definitely believes Bo Nix is ready for prime-time," Bose told Klis. "We've heard that a lot from our partners, how bullish he is on the roster." 

Nix compiled a body of work last year that proved he could not only win games but also that he could push the NFL's elite quarterbacks, like Patrick Mahomes and Joe Burrow, all the way to the wire, even if it ended in heartbreaking defeat for the Broncos. 

It's clear that Bose and the networks believe that Nix will continue to play competitive and eminently watchable football as he moves through his second year. Ironically, that confident assertion from Bose contrasts starkly against a section of pundits claiming the former Oregon man will take a step back in Year 2. 

Nix has rapidly become the poster boy for the Broncos' re-emergence on the national stage, but the sheer depth of talent now surrounding him also sells the product to the NFL fans. It's no stretch to suggest that fans of attacking defensive football could be more drawn to Vance Joseph's impressive unit, a group that could be ranked No. 1 in the NFL by the conclusion of next season. 

Adding marquee talents like inside linebacker Dre Greenlaw and safety Talanoa Hufanga this offseason poured some extra hot sauce on a defense that already featured reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year Patrick Surtain II as its crown jewel.

When it comes to tuning into the action each week, it could prove to be appointment viewing for Broncos fans and neutrals alike. Alongside a long-distance trip to London to face the New York Jets, the Broncos will be racking up plenty of air miles as well as eyeballs during their attempt to wrestle the AFC West crown away from the Kansas City Chiefs. 

Denver's pivotal Week 17 Christmas Day game in Kansas City will be a primetime fixture that will be piquing the interest of Broncos Country, as well as the NFL fan base across the world. Looking too far into the future has its own inherent pitfalls, but if everything falls into place, that Arrowhead game could end up being the seismic moment when the Broncos finally dethrone their dreaded rivals. 

Box office viewing, indeed.