New Details Reveal How Pat Surtain II Boosted Broncos' Cap Outlook

The Denver Broncos gave cornerback Patrick Surtain II a bump in his 2026 salary, and in the process, structured his contract in a way that makes it clear they hope he'll be part of the team for many years to come.

We've learned through Over The Cap that Surtain's restructure created some significant additional salary-cap space for the Broncos. The team now sits with $29.788 million.

New PS2 Details

Surtain will receive an additional $5 million for 2026 beyond the $17.632 million he was set to make, plus he has $5 million in incentives he can earn in 2026 and get a $5 million salary increase in 2027 by earning a Pro Bowl or All-Pro nod this season.

But as we have gone through contracts for Broncos veterans, we discussed PS2's contract as originally structured and indicated that, when it came to 2027, his contract was the best one to consider if the team wanted to restructure his deal.

However, with the revised contract PS2 has, there's no need to restructure as the Broncos have now built option bonuses into each of the remaining years of his contract.

As we have discussed, an option bonus is treated like a signing bonus if exercised, but if not, it's treated as base salary. If the money isn't guaranteed, a team may decline the option bonus, then release the player to be free of salary obligations.

In 2027, Surtain's $17 million salary now has all but $1.26M treated as an option bonus. If he earns the additional $5 million, chances are that may be treated as part of the option bonus, but we won't know that until he achieves the incentives.

In 2028, all but $1.39 million of his $19.49 million salary was converted into an option bonus, and in 2029, all but $1.435 million of his $19.49 million salary was converted into an option bonus.

Impact of Exercising Option Bonuses

Denver Broncos cornerback Pat Surtain II (2) during minicamp at Broncos Park Powered by CommonSpirit. | Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

For the short term, the Broncos can lower Surtain's cap number by exercising the option bonus each year. That does come with a price down the road, should the Broncos not extend him after his deal expires after the 2029 season.

However, we've noted that the structure of the contracts for right guard Quinn Meinerz and outside linebacker Nik Bonitto indicate that the Broncos would like to extend these players before their deals expire. Doing so would mean the Broncos avoid a lot of dead money accelerating onto the cap.

The same can now be said with Surtain. An extension would carry into the void years currently built into the contract and the Broncos wouldn't have that dead money added to the cap.

It should be possible for the Broncos to keep a couple of their higher-salaried players once it's time to extend Bo Nix. Surtain, Meinerz, and Bonitto are good choices, given that they are recent draft picks, and while they will be 30 years old when their deals expire, they should still have plenty left to offer.

Meanwhile, other current Broncos will see their deals expire and not have too much dead money because of the use of option bonuses and void years — as long as the team doesn't restructure those deals.

The Takeaway

Surtain has certainly earned his place on the Broncos roster and few would argue he didn't deserve a slight bump in his salary. Now, with the way his deal has been structured, it's not hard to figure out the Broncos see him as an important part of the team for years to come.

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