The Denver Broncos have handed out several contract extensions this season, keeping guys like Courtland Sutton and Zach Allen in Denver and, more recently, handing new deals to kicker Wil Lutz, center Luke Wattenberg and defensive lineman Malcolm Roach.
But the best move the team has made this season was to make sure that edge rusher Nik Bonitto didn't hit free agency by giving him a four-year deal worth up to $120 million. That's expensive, but it would have cost the team even more to wait and another team may have been willing to pay more than Denver.
Bonitto has been excellent over the last two years. Not only has he become the first Broncos player since Von Miller to post double-digit sacks in two straight years, but the play he made on Sunday night to seal a win over the Washington Commanders was nothing short of fabulous.
NIK BONITTO. GAME OVER. Pic.twitter.com/wdilygDF1x
— NFL (@NFL) December 1, 2025
The Broncos had the best edge rusher in football in Von Miller, who led the team to a victory in Super Bowl 50. Bonitto is starting to enter that level of player for the team, and his defense has a chance to get the Broncos to the big game again this season.
It's always difficult for teams to hand out contract extensions to players, as it can be a true gamble. Many players earn that contract and then begin to regress or suffer a career-changing injury. The Broncos had a tough choice to make with Bonitto, particularly since his career got off to such a slow start after he was taken in the second round of the 2022 draft.
But any questions the team may have had before about Bonitto have seemingly been answered. He's a consistent game-wrecker for the team who has the ability to make a huge play to clinch a victory, as he did on Sunday night.
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Bonitto may not be Von Miller, but he is worth every penny of the contract extension the Broncos gave him.
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