The Denver Broncos gave left tackle Garett Bolles a four-year, $82 million contract extension on Thursday that will average $20.5 million per year from 2025-2028, making him the sixth-highest-paid left tackle in the NFL.
The deal includes $41.9 million guaranteed, including fully guaranteed pay in 2025 and 2026.
“This is a dream come true,” Bolles said during a press conference on Thursday. “I grew up in this city. I became a man in this city as a football player and as a husband. I get to be here long-term with my family. It means the world to me. I’m just so grateful for the Walton Penner family. What an amazing ownership group we have. Everyone in the ownership group and the love that they have here. The time I got to spend with them and to see them changing this place with new facilities and everything that I get to be a part of now is amazing.
“I love George Paton to death. I think we have one of the best GMs in all of the National Football League. The relationship I have with him and the love I have for him and his family and how grateful I am. I’m grateful for Coach [Sean] Payton and the love I have for him. He came in here — he could’ve let me walk — and he believed in me. This offense fits me and I’m just grateful I get to be a part of [it] and see him turn this around. [Offensive line] Coach [Zach] Strief, I’m so grateful for an offensive line coach that just lets me be myself. It’s a humbling time to be in my family, a place where I’d always thought I’d be. It wasn’t easy. I didn’t start off the way I wanted to start off here, but I get to finish how I want to finish. I get to be a Bronco for life and I’m just very grateful.”
Had he waited until the spring, Bolles undoubtedly could have received more on the open market, but he wanted to stay in Denver, where he hopes to finish his career.
“I just am beyond grateful that my kids get to grow up here, and continue to grow up here and we’re in Denver,” Bolles said. “This is home for us. I don’t want to go anywhere else. I could’ve hit free agency and earned more money or whatever it is. I never cared about money; I cared about a legacy. I think legacy speaks volumes for the type of man [you are], and I wanted to create a legacy here.
#BroncosCountry LIVE: T @gbolles72 meets the media#ProBowlVote https://t.co/RrujKe7AFQ
— Denver Broncos (@Broncos) December 12, 2024
The 32-year-old left tackle has allowed just one sack this season, according to Pro Football Focus. His 88.7 pass-bocking grade this year ranks fourth in the NFL. After re-signing the tackle, the Broncos have now shored up Bo Nix’s blindside for the foreseeable future.
