Per Mike Florio, here is what the contract table now looks like for Patrick Surtain II after signing a four year, $96 million extension:
| Base Salary | Prorated Signing Bonus | Prorated Option Bonuses | Regular Roster Bonus | Per Game Roster Bonus | Cap Number | ||
| 2024 | $1,055,000 | $6,151,418 | $0 | $2,463,565 | $0 | $9,669,983 | |
| 2025 | $1,170,000 | $3,000,000 | $4,200,000 | $0 | $0 | $8,370,000 | |
| 2026 | $7,632,000 | $3,000,000 | $6,700,000 | $0 | $0 | $17,332,000 | |
| 2027 | $17,000,000 | $3,000,000 | $6,700,000 | $0 | $0 | $26,700,000 | |
| 2028 | $19,490,000 | $3,000,000 | $6,700,000 | $0 | $510,000 | $29,700,000 | |
| 2029 | $23,490,000 | $0 | $6,700,000 | $0 | $510,000 | $30,700,000 |
Suffice to say, this is a complex contract, so let’s dive into it beyond the fold:
Cash flow
To best understand this contract, I think it’s best to explain how and when Surtain will get the pay he deserves over the next six seasons. As reported, he is getting an additional $96 million over the course of four additional seasons, atop the $23.32 million he was already due via his rookie contract., and his fifth year option of $19.802 million for 2025.
Here’s a more condensed list of each payment Surtain is due by season, as reported by Florio:
- 2024: $15 million signing bonus, $2,463,565 roster bonus (already paid), $1.055 million base salary (the minimum)
- 2025: $21 million option bonus, $1.170 million base salary (the minimum)
- 2026: $10 million option bonus, $7.632 million base salary
- 2027: $17 million base salary
- 2028: $19.49 million base salary, $510,000 in per game roster bonuses
- 2029: $23.49 million base salary, $510,000 in per game roster bonuses
Here’s a tabular look as to how the cash flows, in both total and new money due:
| Season | Total Cash Due | Total Running Cash Flow | New Cash Due | New Running Cash Flow | |
| 2024 | $18,518,565 | $18,518,565 | $15,000,000 | $15,000,000 | |
| 2025 | $22,170,000 | $40,688,565 | $2,368,000 | $17,368,000 | |
| 2026 | $17,632,000 | $58,320,565 | $17,632,000 | $35,000,000 | |
| 2027 | $17,000,000 | $75,320,565 | $17,000,000 | $52,000,000 | |
| 2028 | $20,000,000 | $95,320,565 | $20,000,000 | $72,000,000 | |
| 2029 | $24,000,000 | $119,320,565 | $24,000,000 | $96,000,000 |
Over the next six seasons, Surtain will earn more than $119.32 million. That would be “only” an APY of $19.88 million. Ignoring the fourth year of the standard rookie contract, the fifth year option plus the extension comes out to $115.8 million over five seasons–an APY of $23.16 million that would still be market setting. However, I was dead on correct on what the APY of the extension itself would be at $24 million even.
Among his peers in cash flow, as expected he is atop all of them, even by new money standards. Surtain gets over $17 million more than he would have in the next two seasons without this extension, $15 million of which is at signing. When the extension kicks in, the running cash flows in each season outpace the next corner in Jaire Alexander by $4 million, $5 million, $7.5 million, and $6 million. These leads are not as aggressive as I had proposed, but still outstanding, and is one of the strongest parts of the contract for Surtain.
Guarantee structure
This contract was announced via reporters as having $77.5 million in guarantees. That outdoes the previous leader in Denzel Ward by over $6 million. However, only $40.688 million is guaranteed at signing, and only $17.368 million of that is in new money. This comes via his 2024 and 2025 base salaries and roster bonus, his $15 million signing bonus, and his $21 million option bonus. This ranks only 7th among cornerbacks. If disaster were to strike in 2024 that is not injury related, the Broncos could hypothetically part ways before the 2025 season, and a June 1 designation would keep his 2025 cap number the same, with a dead money hit of $25.8 million in 2026.
Once the 2025 new league year is underway, all of his 2026 cash due (base salary and option bonus) vests into a full guarantee. Parting ways before 2026 would be much more costly, with $17.332 million in 2025 and $26.1 million in 2026 of dead money to account for with a June 1 designation. Once 2026 starts, 2027 also gets costly, as his $17 million base salary for that season also vests to full protection. That puts the June 1 designation dead money amounts at $26.7 million in 2027, and $16.4 million in 2028. 2028’s vesting guarantees are much milder, with only $1.179 million vesting to full in 2026, and another $1 million in 2027.
Here’s the running guarantee structure over the next four seasons:
| Season | Full Guarantees |
| 2024 | $40,688,565 |
| 2025 | $58,320,565 |
| 2026 | $76,499,565 |
| 2027 | $77,499,565 |
Barring extremely unlikely escape hatches in 2024 and 2025 that the Broncos were able to gain, all but $1 million of this guarantee structure looks solid for Surtain. $76.5 million in likely guaranteed money, would be a very fair assessment of this contract, still well ahead of Ward’s total guarantees. I had called for Surtain to get $72 million in full guarantees before the 5th year option was exercised. From 2025 to 2029, the guarantees are $72.981 million, and while only about half is fully guaranteed at signing, the other half is highly likely to vest. Once again, my estimate by this metric was extremely close.
Analysis
Because the APY and guarantee amounts were right on line with what I estimated, I think this is a very fair contract for both the Broncos and Surtain on those metrics. I give the edge to Surtain on one additional metric: I called for Surtain’s contract to run through 2030, whereas this one only goes to 2029. This gives Surtain an earlier start toward negotiating a new contract, for the season when he would turn 30.
The chain reaction that this extension will have on the cornerback market should also be considerable, and well received by his younger peers. Sauce Gardner of course is the next one to watch, and he was quick to praise Surtain on Twitter, knowing well that he’ll be next. Trent McDuffie and Derek Stingley Jr. are also part of the same rookie class as Gardner, and while they might not reach the same heights as Surtain, they will very much appreciate that the previous ceiling is no longer tenable. I very much appreciate that the Broncos got ahead of the market on securing the services of one of the league’s best defensive players for seasons to come.