Over The Cap Reveals Broncos' Best & Worst-Value Contracts

NFL teams can find great value in some players, but poor value in others, when it comes to the contracts they sign, and the Denver Broncos are no exception.

How does a team know if it is getting good value or not? It's easy to sometimes to look at total numbers and think in those terms, but more often, it's about what a team pays a player relative to his production.

Jason Fitzgerald at Over the Cap has started his series of best and worst contracts for each team in the NFL, with the AFC West up first.

His pick for the Broncos' best contract is Von Miller, who signed a six-year, $114.5M contract back in 2016 after helping the team win a World Championship wherein he was named Super Bowl 50 MVP.

Fitzgerald notes that some people might think it's crazy to pick this contract as the best value, but he wrote that it's rare to see a player sign a six-year deal and play out the full contract.

"The contract that was the precursor to this was Ndamukong Suh who played for three years before his release. Justin Houston lasted four. Plenty of others have quickly faded from prized signings to 'when can we release them' players."

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Miller also happened to be the last major pass rusher to sign a deal below $20 million in average per year salary, despite production that might have suggested he should have far surpassed the six-year, $114M deal that Suh received from the Miami Dolphins back in 2015.

It's true there was talk about the Broncos possibly declining the team option on Miller's deal, but after several free-agent pass rushers agreed to big-money deals, general manager George Paton opted to keep Miller.

Only time will tell whether Miller will get an extension from the Broncos after this season, but if he's highly productive, it may mean a difficult decision awaits Paton. How much more will Miller have left in the tank and is that worth a mega-deal?

Fitzgerald also named the worst contract the Broncos have and it's none other than cornerback Ronald Darby, who signed a three-year, $30M contract this year in free agency.

Darby's contract is certainly a risky one, given his injury history and the fact he's had to take one-year deals in the past two seasons.

Of course, if Darby stays healthy and plays at a high level, there will be less reason to be worried about this deal. Paton did roll the dice on this one, but we'll find out this season how it plays out.

Follow Bob on Twitter @BobMorrisSports.

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