We have a big hint at what Pat Surtain II’s extension may look like

Pat Surtain II still has two years left on his first pro contract with the Denver Broncos but one of the team’s biggest questions this offseason is about an extension for the star cornerback—and the numbers on a deal have come into focus after Antoine Winfield Jr. signed a big deal on Monday.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers made Winfield the highest-paid defensive back in NFL history, inking him to a four-year, $84.1 million deal with $45 million guaranteed. The safety was franchise-tagged in March because he was due to be a free agent. He was a second-round pick in the 2020 NFL draft—which is worth a four-year contract, unlike the five-year one Surtain got for being a first-rounder in 2021.

Winfield was one of the better defenders in the league in 2024, tying for a league-leading six forced fumbles and four fumble recoveries, joining Haason Reddick as the only players to accomplish this feat since at least 2000. The 25-year-old has 384 tackles, 15 sacks, 11 forced fumbles and seven interceptions in 59 career games. The All-Pro and former Super Bowl champion is the son of former All-Pro and Jim Thorpe award-winning cornerback Antoine Winfield Sr. The son has gone back and forth between nickelback and safety in the NFL.

This all makes Winfield a good comparison for Surtain, also the son of an accomplished NFL defender who has thrived early in his own career. Denver recently picked up PS2’s fifth-year player option.

The two-time Pro Bowler has been great for the Broncos in his first three seasons, which is why his fifth-year option in 2025 will carry a salary of $19.8 million. That’s nearly what PS2 will have made up to that point of his NFL career, slated to only make about $5.2 million this coming fall. Denver had until May 2, to make a decision on PS2’s deal and it wasn’t one of not wanting him rather seeing about an extension or playing out his rookie contract through the options.

Surtain, 23, was drafted by Broncos general manager George Paton at No. 9 in the 2021 NFL Draft and has quickly blossomed into one of the top cornerbacks in the league.

“We’re all big fans of Pat,” Paton, said at the end-of-season press conference about six weeks ago. “We’re going to have a big meeting in a couple of weeks, and kind of go through the entire roster for Pat included. But we want Pat here for a long time.”

After the 2025 option, PS2 will be an unrestricted free agent, though the Broncos could franchise tag him for the 2026 season.

If it does come to extension talks and perhaps eventually tearing up the 2025 option, Winfeild is one of many good comps for PS2. The most recent strictly cornerback to get a big contract was Jaylon Johnson, who resigned with the Bears at four years for $76 million and $54 million was guaranteed. The latest of PS2’s caliber to get a contract was Trevon Diggs, who got $97 million over five years from Dallas last offseason. Diggs was in a similar situation to Winfield, getting the deal before entering his fourth season, because he too was a second-round pick the Cowboys didn’t have the option to pick up a fifth year on his rookie contract. Packers standout corner Jaire Alexander is the highest-paid player at the position in the league, making $21 million a year. Green Bay skipped the former first-round pick’s fifth-year option and gave him $84 million over four seasons back in 2022.

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