Pro Bowl Playmaker Expected to Land Broncos Deal After $102 Million Decision

The Denver Broncos made veteran defensive lineman Zach Allen the team’s highest-paid player with a four-year, $102 million contract extension. The decision could pave the way for the Broncos to address Allen’s fellow Second Team All-Pro, outside linebacker Nik Bonitto.

Bonitto finished third in the NFL with 13.5 sacks in 2024. He was also named to the 2025 Pro Bowl games.

Allen cannot claim that.

“Nik Bonitto is next up for a BIG pay day [looking eyes emoji],” DNVR Broncos’ Zac Stevens posted on X on August 2, quoting the OLB’s post captioning a report about Allen’s new deal with, “Beastyyyyyyyy” following the news.

Bonitto, who turns 26 in September, bested his previous career mark of 8.5 sacks, which he set in 2023.

The No. 64 overall pick of the 2022 draft, Bonitto is on an expiring four-year, $5.8 million deal.

Broncos HC Sean Payton Piques Interest With Nik Bonitto Comments

Bonitto has seen several Broncos teammates – wide receiver Courtland Sutton, fellow edge Jonathon Cooper, reigning Defensive Player of the Year and cornerback Pat Surtain II, and now Allen – in the past year, and he could be next.

Broncos head coach Sean Payton said he appreciated Allen and Sutton for being present throughout the offseason while their deals got finalized.

He also suggested that Bonitto could opt to hit free agency or is at least weighing it.

“When you guys began camp, and it was discussed, the unsigned players, they were all clumped together. And what you don’t understand is there there are different stages in the process. And so, if you would have asked me at the start of camp, and I probably wouldn’t have answered it, but I would have said Sutton, Allen, and then, Bonito,” Payton told reporters on August 2.

“When you sign with a year left remaining, well, there’s a cost to that a little bit. You gain another year of security from injury. When you sign as a free agent, that number is probably bigger. And so, those are all the decisions that weigh into the player and the organization’s mind.”

Bonitto will get a significant deal, though the Broncos could end up paying an even greater premium if he has another top-five sack performance.

Sean Payton’s Comments Could Prove Ominous For Broncos Trade Pickup

Veteran John Franklin-Myers’ future with the Broncos is a lot less clear than Bonitto’s, though, with Allen’s deal joining D.J. Jones as significant investments into the front. The Broncos acquired Franklin-Myers in a trade with the New York Jets during the 2024 draft.

He has openly lobbied for a new deal.

However, Franklin-Myers has long been pegged as the likely odd-man out of the Broncos’ plans, a sentiment that would only grow if Bonitto signs.

Franklin-Myers, like Bonitto, has been supportive of his teammates getting paid. But there remains uncertainty about how far the Broncos are willing to go, especially with a player like rookie third-round pick Sai’vion Jones on hand to potentially take his place.

Franklin-Myers was productive for the Broncos in 2024.

Whether or not he was productive enough to land an extension from the Broncos like Allen and Sutton have, and Bonitto presumably will, is unclear.