Every player selected in the first round of the 2021 NFL draft (including Denver Broncos cornerback Pat Surtain) has a clause in their contract that includes a fifth-year option for the 2025 season. The window to exercise that fifth-year option opened on Jan. 8. The deadline is May 2.
The Broncos still have more than three months to make a decision. Surtain’s fifth-year option is expected to be worth $18,421,000, according to OverTheCap.com. Picking it up will likely be a formality for Denver as the team negotiates an eventual long-term contract.
During the team’s end-of-season press conference earlier this month, general manager George Paton did not have an update on any potential contract negotiations.
“We’re all big fans of Pat,” Paton said on Jan. 9. “I think Sean [Payton] said it — we’re going to have a big meeting in a couple weeks and go through the entire roster, Pat included. We want Pat here for a long time, but I’m not prepared to make any statements on anything moving forward.”
Surtain is set to earn just north of $3.5 million in 2024 before potentially getting a big pay raise on his fifth-year option in 2025. The highest-paid cornerbacks in the NFL average more than $20 million per season, and Surtain’s agent will likely view that number as the floor in negotiations with the Broncos. There’s no immediate update on PS2’s contract status, but he’ll be paid handsomely when the time comes.
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