Sean Payton Had Blunt Comment on Broncos No Longer Paying Russell Wilson’s Contract

The Broncos saw their season come to an end on Sunday when they fell to the Patriots 10-7 in the AFC championship game.

Though Denver felt their season ended prematurely and will not be going to the San Francisco Bay Area to play in the Super Bowl, there is reason for optimism heading into the offseason. After failing to reach the playoffs for eight consecutive campaigns, the Broncos have re-emerged as a playoff team over the past two seasons. This year, they solidified themselves as a true contender by winning the AFC West, securing the No. 1 seed in the conference and nearly advancing to the Super Bowl.

This offseason, the Broncos will have even more flexibility to improve their team now that they’re longer paying off Russell Wilson’s contract. When the Broncos decided to move off of Wilson in March 2024, they took an $85 million dead cap hit over the next two seasons.

“If I said I’m going to give you $50,000 to decorate your home, or $200,000, your home’s going to look nicer, if you’re a decent shopper, if you have more money,” head coach Sean Payton said of the team’s newfound liquidity. “I think the same takes place with our sport. I’m proud of the way everyone else handled it and looked at developing young players and didn’t use it as a built-in excuse.”

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Payton also said, “We go back to the start of the race. [All] 32 teams have to go back and go meet their parents, go eat their oranges and get ready to start again. That’s really important. We do that with more resources, we do that without dead cap, we do that with a foundation in place, we do that with optimism and confidence from the journey we’ve been on.

Even while managing Wilson’s cap hit, the Broncos were already able to sign key free agents like Dre Greenlaw, Talanoa Hufanga and J.K. Dobbins last year, and will have even more room to do that now that they have paid out Wilson’s contract. With Bo Nix still on his rookie contract for at least two more seasons, the Broncos have a prime window to capitalize on. They still plan to be smart with their spending, but are in a good position to add to their team to try and return to the AFC title game.

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