Courtland Sutton‘s contract status was a talking point for the Broncos last offseason until a 2024 top-up was agreed to. As a result, this year represents the window for an extension to be worked out as Denver looks to negotiate several new deals. 
No Sutton agreement is in place yet, meaning he remains on track for free agency in 2026. The former Pro Bowl wideout skipped voluntary OTAs last spring, but he will be in attendance this time around. That is an encouaraging sign regarding the chances of an extension coming to bear, and Sutton added to the positive sentiment when speaking on the subject Saturday.
“My team has had a really good conversation with the guys up there in the front office, and I think it’s working in the right direction,” the 29-year-old told Parker Gabriel of the Denver Post. “Ultimately, you just want to know you’re working in the right direction. I think they see and have seen what I’ve brought to the team. I’m open and optimistic about the fact that I’ll be able to be here for the rest of my career.”
Sutton finishing his NFL tenure in the Mile High City has looked like far from a certainty for some time now. Regularly included in trade talk, the Broncos’ No. 1 receiver delivered the second 1,000-yard campaign of his career in 2024 and now profiles as a priority for the team to continue building on offense around quarterback Bo Nix. Sutton is currently owed $14MM for 2025 with a scheduled cap hit of $20.2MM.
A multi-year deal will no doubt require a raise based on the surges in the receiver market, although without the same resume as many of his younger counterparts Sutton should not approach the most lucrative contracts at the position. Still, a new Broncos commitment would ensure his place as a major contributor on offense for years to come, particularly as a red zone target with 18 touchdowns over the past two years. With Nix on his rookie deal, Denver could afford to keep Sutton in the fold at a higher rate while bolstering a skill-position group which saw the arrival of tight end Evan Engram in free agency.
The upcoming draft looms as another opportunity for the Broncos to bring in new weapons on offense. No extension will be in place with Sutton or any other player in line for a new deal until after it takes place, but signs continue to point to an agreement being worked out on that front before the 2025 season kicks off.
Denver drafting a QB changed Sutton’s career.
Before it was just a bunch of random guys throwing to him before the Russell Wilson experiment but now he has a high first round QB who the team obviously wants to put in the best position to succeed so he is now a priority to keep around due to his being a reliable veteran.
It’s crazy he’s still just 29. It seems like he’s been in the league forever. Drafted in the post Manning years when Denver was consistently a QB away from being a Superbowl team, then the doldrums when those guys aged out and the Broncos drafted QB after QB. He doesn’t have the accomplishments of his peers entirely because he’s had such terrible QB play around him.
Denver should give him an extension that keeps him around until he’s like 32-33 with a lot of the guarantee being a signing bonus.