Broncos GM Leans on One Powerful Tool to Craft a Playoff Roster

Denver Broncos GM George Paton is taking advantage of this to build and keep a playoff-caliber roster.

Dec 2, 2024; Denver, Colorado, USA; Denver Broncos general manager George Paton before the game against the Cleveland Browns at Empower Field at Mile High. | Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

In reviewing the contracts the Denver Broncos have given to their players, several have used the option bonus technique to keep cap numbers lower.

An option bonus works like this: if such an option is exercised, the player’s salary for that year is treated like a signing bonus and spread out over multiple seasons. If not exercised, but the team elects to keep the player, the money is paid as a base salary and counts toward the cap.

Broncos GM George Paton has used this salary-cap tool to build a playoff-caliber roster, and, more importantly, keep it together. Over The Cap’s Nick Korte recently noted on X that the Broncos have the second-most number of option bonuses built into contracts.

The Wattenberg Example

One contract that stands out in its structure is the deal for center Luke Wattenberg. He not only has option bonuses in the four-year extension he signed last week, but has seven total over the course of the deal, with different dates for when options may be exercised.

Korte explains here exactly how that contract works. The unique structure gives the Broncos a lot of flexibility when it comes to creating additional cap space if necessary, or simply leaving salary alone and taking a larger cap hit.

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Benefits of the Option Bonus

Nov 5, 2022; Boulder, Colorado, USA; Denver Broncos general manager George Paton before the game between the Oregon Ducks against the Colorado Buffaloes at Folsom Field. | Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

The thing about the option bonus technique is that it allows teams to free up additional cap space if they decide to keep a player. That flexibility means that there’s no need to approach the player about restructuring the contract to create more cap room.

But as Korte notes, a team could easily decide to take on a bigger hit in one year but have more space available in the future, by not exercising the option and just paying the money as a base salary.

Credit to Paton

This is where credit must go to Paton for finding ways to maximize salary-cap flexibility, enabling the Broncos to keep players they've either drafted and developed or previously signed in free agency and proved valuable, while still being in a position to address other needs through free agency.

The Broncos are projected to enter 2026 with a little more than $40 million in cap space, though that’s with 41 players under contract. Once the Broncos sign players to futures contracts to get the roster to 51, they’ll have a better idea about available space.

There could be other methods the Broncos utilize to free up cap space, whether it’s releasing certain players or renegotiating contracts to convert base salary into incentives.

The point is that Paton is finding creative ways to keep the Broncos' roster intact and still have a means to improve it. It’s one of several reasons why Paton, despite some key mistakes over the years, has been an asset to the Broncos organization.