Broncos’ Surtain isn’t thinking contract even as Gonzalez deal pushes CB market higher

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — The Broncos gave Pat Surtain II a contract bump earlier this year after the contracts signed since he agreed to a four-year, $96-million deal continued to push the cornerback market further into the stratosphere.

But the market price keeps soaring, and the contract given Tuesday by the New England Patriots to Christian Gonzalez further ascends the potential price tag for top CB1s, as Gonzalez agreed to a four-year, $135-million extension that works out to an average per-year value of $33.75 million.

Surtain got a $5 million raise for the 2026 season in June, and he could earn another $5 million if he reaches incentive thresholds spelled out in the contract adjustment. That raise — not including the incentives — added $1.25 million of average per-year value to his deal, but that still keeps him out of the NFL’s top six at cornerback.

The threshold for entry into that club is $30 million.

But at an event to unveil the latest in his collection of “Inspiration Rooms” at local schools — rooms filled with computers and other technology to help students — Surtain wasn’t thinking much about Gonzalez’s contract and the potential impact on his deal.

“I just think that’s what the market is now,” Surtain said.

 

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“Everybody’s gonna jump the market, but it’s well- deserved, hell of a player. And he’s he’s one of those guys that I definitely look at and watch film on. It’s well-deserved. So, congrats to him. But when that time comes, that time comes.

“But right now I can only control what I can control, and that’s being the best version of myself on the field.”

GONZALEZ’S CONTRACT COULD HAVE A MORE IMMEDIATE IMPACT ON OTHER BRONCOS

Specifically Riley Moss and Ja’Quan McMillian, both of whom have expiring contracts in the coming months as Broncos general manager George Paton looks ahead to the 2027 league year.

Neither will command the sort of price tag that Gonzalez received, of course. But the rising tide lifts all boats, and the contracts to Gonzalez and Seattle’s Devon Witherspoon — both of which boast average annual values of over $33 million per year — provide a bump that could enhance the value of Moss and McMillian.

Keeping both might require a combined $35 million of average annual value between the two. And with Surtain at $24 million — with the potential for more adjustments in the next two years on a deal that expires after the 2028 season — the Broncos could face an average annual cap figure in the neighborhood of $60 million to keep their top three cornerbacks together.

With 2025 first-round pick Jahdae Barron still waiting in the wings, the Broncos might be forced into a similar scenario as they had at defensive line this past year following John Franklin-Myers’ departure.: where they can’t keep everyone, and at some point find it’s time to hand the baton to the youth they’ve developed.

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