Per Over The Cap:
| Season | Base Salary | Prorated Signing Bonus | Prorated Option Bonus | Per Game Roster Bonus | Cash Due | Cap Number |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $1,500,000* | $1,500,000 | $1,000,000 | $10,000,000 | $3,411,765 | |
| 2026 | $11,000,000* | $1,500,000 | $1,000,000 | $12,000,000 | $13,500,000 | |
| 2027 | $1,260,000 | $1,500,000 | $2,948,000 | $1,000,000 | $17,000,000 | $6,708,000 |
| 2028 | Void | $1,500,000 | $2,948,000 | $14,792,000 | ||
| 2029 | Void | $1,500,000 | $2,948,000 | |||
| 2030 | Void | $2,948,000 | ||||
| 2031 | Void | $2,948,000 | ||||
| 2032 | Void |
*fully guaranteed salary
This is a three year, $39 million contract with $20 million fully guaranteed, those guarantees coming via a signing bonus of $7.5 million and base salaries of $1.5 million and $11 million in 2025 and 2026. For 2027, Hufanga has an option bonus of $14.74 million that–in a technique quite unique to the Broncos–is due on September 1, just before the start of the regular season. Five void years are placed on this contract–two in use right now for Hufanga’s signing bonus, two more should the proration option on his 2027 bonus be exercised, and the final one reserved for potential future use in an extension should the Broncos want to keep those cap dollars prorated.
Hufanga has $1 million worth of annual per game roster bonuses. For 2025, because Hufanga only played 7 games, only $411,765 of that will count against the Broncos’ salary cap in 2025. Should he play more than 7 games, the remaining per gamers will be counted against the 2026 cap instead, and should he play fewer, a credit will be issued.
Hufanga also has $6 million in incentives and escalators available to earn. In 2025 and 2026, the incentives are tied to interceptions–he needs 3 to earn $250,000, 4 to earn another $250,000, and 5 for another $500,000. In 2027, it shifts to snap counts: 80% earns $250,000, and 90% another $250,000. Finally, Hufanga has annual $500,000 AP First Team All Pro incentives, and for each one he is named to in 2025 and 2026, $500,000 escalators are available for 2027.
Analysis
The guarantees of this contract make this a firm two season commitment made by the Broncos, and it is the strongest portion of the contract for Hufanga. But in exchange, the strongest portion of the contract for the Broncos is the cash flow: $22 million is all he gets in the first two seasons. That ranks 13th among safeties, and is a far cry from the $31 million to $34.5 million that Cam Bynum and Tre’von Moehrig will earn in their first two seasons on their new contracts signing close to the same time as Hufanga.
It’s intriguing to compare this contract to that of Dre Greenlaw. Despite Greenlaw suffering from fewer injuries that Hufanga, it’s instead Hufanga that gets the better security: more and longer guarantees, and less money put in per game roster bonuses. Age may play a factor here, as Hufanga is three years younger. The more complicated structure of Hufanga’s contract leads me to believe that if he returns to top tier form, an extension for him in 2027 is very much anticipated by the Broncos.
The September 1 option bonus due date, something that as mentioned above is becoming a signature feature of Broncos contracts, gives the team flexibility on how to allocate cap dollars that season. It’s an important season to have that flexibility, as that would be the first season that Bo Nix is eligible to be extended.
With Hufanga in the fold, the plan is for the Broncos to have he and Brandon Jones as the starters for the next two seasons. PJ Locke should be a very suitable reserve for 2025 if need be–however, with $3.5 million due to him, should JL Skinner and/or a future rookie emerge in training camp, that salary of his could come under pressure before the regular season starts.