DENVER BRONCOS

Broncos make Pat Surtain ll highest-paid DB ever, ink big extension

Sep 4, 2024, 7:31 AM | Updated: 7:38 am

No defensive back in NFL history has made more money on a contract than Patrick Surtain ll is about to, as the Denver Broncos just signed their star cornerback to a four-year, $96 million extension that includes $77.5 million guaranteed.

PS2 is a two-time Pro Bowler, who has been great for the Broncos in his first three seasons. He was locked in for his fourth-yer and already inked a fifth-year option for 2025 which was supposed to carry a salary of $19.8 million. That’s nearly what PS2 would have made up to that point of his NFL career. He was only supposed to make $5.2 million this coming fall but he’s about to get a lot richer with his new contract.

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. For his career, PS2 has logged seven interceptions and 36 passes defended in his three seasons.

“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.”

PS2 would have been an unrestricted free agent after the 2025 season, though the Broncos could have franchise-tagged him for the 2026 season.

The most recent defensive back to sign was when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers made Winfield the highest-paid defensive back in NFL history to that point earlier this offseason. They inked 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. Cornerback Jaylon Johnson, resigned with the Bears at four years for $76 million and $54 million was guaranteed. The latest corner 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 has been 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. Now it’s PS2 that’s top of the class for his wallet among defensive backs in the NFL.

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