Nik Bonitto's Contract Details Emerge: Grading the Broncos' Extension

Bonitto may have only received $38.346M fully guaranteed upon signing, but his $70M in total guarantees are practical guarantees. The contract also commits the Broncos to Bonitto through 2027 unless they trade him.

In 2028, the Broncos have a theoretical means to cut Bonitto, but it's not a given that they will. The final year of the contract, 2029, is when the Broncos could think about parting ways (and it's worth noting that's when Bonitto will turn 30).

Assuming the Broncos keep Bonitto through 2028, he will collect $91.5M in salary, which means he would collect the bulk of the money in the contract. There are incentives in the contract as well (likely tied to performance) that could give Bonitto a chance to raise the value of the deal.

While Bonitto came in at a higher APY salary than I expected, the $26.5M APY salary is close to the projected franchise tag for linebackers in 2026. Thus, it's a reasonable deal from that standpoint.

The full guarantees came in lower than I projected, which could be considered a "win" for the Broncos, but Bonitto gets a more important victory because he'll collect all the guaranteed money from a practical standpoint.

The Broncos used the option bonus to lower Bonitto's cap charge without making it too difficult to move on from him in the final year of the deal, should that become necessary. We're seeing the Broncos make frequent use of the option bonus to keep future cap charges lower for their top players.

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Overall, this is a reasonable deal for Bonitto, one that rewards him but doesn't re-set the market at the position. While it's easy to think the Broncos could have gotten him for less money if they pushed to get the deal done before the Micah Parsons extension, they still got Bonitto at a fair price point.

Contract Grade: B+