After two years of gridlock, the NFL’s cornerback market will see its ceiling rise. The Broncos have a deal in place with Patrick Surtain, according to NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport. As could be expected, a sizable gap will soon exist between Denver’s dominant corner and the field.
Surtain agreed to a four-year, $96MM extension. This makes the 2021 top-10 pick the NFL’s highest-paid corner by a $3MM margin — in terms of AAV. This agreement includes $77.5MM guaranteed, Rapoport adds. The deal bridges the gap between the CB and WR markets, and even though a sizable gulf still exists, Surtain began the process of narrowing the it.
Because the Broncos picked up Surtain’s fifth-year option in March, this deal will tie the All-Pro defender to the team through the 2029 season. Although teams made offers for Surtain at the 2023 deadline and trade rumors emerged ahead of this draft, the Broncos had viewed the second-generation NFL corner as a building block for the Sean Payton era. They will back up that talk via this extension.
Denver could have kept Surtain on his rookie deal into 2025; his rookie deal called for a $1.1MM base salary this year. Surtain secured this megadeal early, and it will give the Broncos significant cost certainty with their top player.
Considering Surtain’s age (24) and his performance level, this could certainly be viewed as a bargain for the team. It ties Surtain to Denver through his age-29 season, and the AAV still comes in $11MM south of where Justin Jefferson moved the wide receiver market this offseason. Though, Surtain wanting to lock in a veteran contract early makes sense as well. The deal gives him a $3MM lead on the field, with Jaire Alexander having held the title as the NFL’s highest-paid corner since May 2022.
In terms of guarantees, Surtain’s number also created separation between he and the cornerback field. Though, perhaps not as much as should have been expected. The Broncos will receive four additional years of control in exchange for moving the CB guarantee ceiling up by $6.5MM from Denzel Ward‘s previous league-leading mark ($71.25MM). Jalen Ramsey‘s Dolphins rework also passed $71MM in total guarantees.
The gap between CBs and WRs has expanded over the past decade. At this point nine years ago, the cornerback ceiling (Patrick Peterson‘s $14MM-per-year number on his Cardinals extension) matched the deals given to Demaryius Thomas and Dez Bryant. Since that point, however, teams began valuing…