Details Emerge on New Broncos S Talanoa Hufanga's Contract: Grade

The first wave of free agency is over and we have the details on the multi-year contracts the Denver Broncos gave to free agents, whether their own or to players who were on other teams in 2024.

The last of the contracts for which details emerged is for safety Talanoa Hufanga, formerly of the San Francisco 49ers. He signed a three-year, $39 million contract with the Broncos with $20 million fully guaranteed.

Let’s look at Hufanga’s contract and see how the Broncos did.

Contract Details

2025: $7.5M signing bonus (fully guaranteed), $1.5M base salary (fully guaranteed), $1M per-game roster bonus.
2026: $11M base salary (fully guaranteed), $1M per-game roster bonus.
2027: $14.74M option bonus due Sept. 1, 2027, $1.26M base salary
2028 through 2032: Void years for salary cap purposes.

Note: An additional $6M in incentives and escalators are available, tied to interceptions in 2025 and 2026 and to snap counts in 2027.

Cap Charges

2025: $3.412M
2026: $13.5M
2027: $6.708M (assuming option bonus is exercised)

What happens next on the Broncos beat? Don't miss out on any news and analysis! Take a second, sign up for our free newsletter, and get breaking Broncos news delivered to your inbox daily!

Gut Reaction

There’s a lot to unpack regarding Hufanga’s contract. First of all, it was initially reported to be for three years at $45M, but it’s actually $39M with $6M in incentives, equating to a $13M APY salary with a chance for him to earn more money.

Second, this contract is a “two years, then we’ll see” type of deal, but in the third year, the Broncos have an option bonus on which they must decide whether to exercise by Sept. 1.

With an option bonus, if a team exercises it, it's treated like a signing bonus for cap purposes. If not exercised, though, it's treated as a base salary. However, because the money isn’t guaranteed, the Broncos could simply cut Hufanga in 2027 and not owe him that money.

The 2027 year is similar to the 2025 and 2026 contract years for left tackle Garett Bolles, in which the Broncos may choose to exercise the option bonus if they need more cap space, or they could opt not to exercise it and treat it as base salary.

And considering that Hufanga will be 27 years old in 2027, the Broncos could decide to extend him if he stays healthy and plays at a high level. In such a case, the Broncos have options for how the option bonus would be treated, whether incorporating it into a base salary or making it part of a signing bonus.

Finally, there are the void years, in which the first two such years are used for the signing bonus, while the next two are for the option bonus if exercised, and the final one could be reserved for an extension.

The unique structure of this contract allows the deal to be cap-friendly in 2025, and keep his cap charge reasonable in 2026. In 2027, it gives the Broncos options for how to handle the cap charge.

As for the money committed, because $6M is tied to incentives and escalators, the Broncos hedged their bets a little, given Hufanga’s injury history. On the other hand, the Broncos did roll the dice a bit, given that they committed $20M over two seasons.

While the Broncos didn’t necessarily get great value in this deal, they found creative ways to keep the deal cap-friendly for the most part. And if Hufanga stays healthy and plays at a high level for the next two seasons, the fact he would be just 27 years old in 2027 means the Broncos could be prepared to extend him.

Contract Details

Cap Charges

Gut Reaction

Recommended Articles