Sean Payton Broaches 'Important' Question About Broncos' Cap

In a span of only two calendar years, the Denver Broncos have gone from carrying the largest dead-money charge in NFL history to owning the second-lowest amount in the league.

That fact -- and the tremendous job completed by the Broncos' front office -- isn't lost on head coach Sean Payton.

“It feels good. It’s important," Payton told reporters on Thursday following the open-viewing portion of Organized Team Activities. "It’s hard to do that with dead money, and when you do it with a record-setting amount, it’s a credit to everyone: the young players, coaches, scouts. So I don’t know that anyone can physically feel it or see it, but certainly it exists when it pertains to your budget.”

Finally free from the shackles of Russell Wilson, who officially retired this week after Denver took on an $85 million hit, the Broncos currently rank 31st in dead money ($3.410 million), a majority of which is tied to the post-June 1 release of inside linebacker Dre Greenlaw.

Consequently, the Broncos are sitting on a comfortable $26.23 million in available salary-cap space. They've already opted to devote up to $10 million to cornerback Patrick Surtain II and still have the freedom to make a few more moves before the 2026 regular season, if interested.

“It was definitely an adjustment," Payton said of Surtain's pay raise. "He’s obviously someone that we feel like is elite and at the top of his position. Part of that is the salary cap, and how that fluctuates and moves, especially in the last three years.”