Per Over The Cap, Alex Palczewski’s two year, $9.5 million extension is structured as follows:
- A $2.5 million signing bonus
- A fully guaranteed base salary of $1.575 million in 2026
- A base salary of $4.49 million, $1.5 million of which is fully guaranteed at signing
- Per game roster bonuses of $425,000 and $510,000 in 2026 and 2027
In total, $5.575 million is fully guaranteed. The cash flow is only mildly backloaded, as Palczewski is due $4.5 million in 2026, and will be due $5 million in 2027.
I find this contract intriguing for multiple reasons.
First, given the APY, it’s clear to me that the Broncos would have been comfortable with offering the right of first refusal restricted free agent tender to Palczewski if they had failed to agree to an extension. I thought it would be a closer call to make, but I’m happy that the Broncos showed more confidence. The ROFR tender this season is at $3.52 million, while a 2nd round tender is at $5.767 million. An APY of $4.75 million falls comfortably between the two tenders, so it’s clear the sides found middle ground there.
Both sides also made some concessions to make this contract happen. The Broncos decided to pay a decent premium on a backup offensive lineman, while Palczewski decided to forgo his first season of opportunity of unrestricted free agency. There are tail end risks for both sides here, but the reward is modestly comfortable in the middle to reach a more likely positive sum outcome.
This signing also brings the future of Ben Powers on the team to attention. There was immediate speculation that Palczewski could immediately replace Powers with the latter being traded, or asked to take a pay cut or be cut. Mike Klis, however, issued a report that put that speculation to rest for 2026, stating that none of those outcomes will happen and that Powers will be a Bronco this season.
I agree with Klis that this is wise for now. There is no reason to part ways with Powers now, as there are no more contract triggers in the final season of his contract that would apply pressure toward such. But I do think that beyond the spring, there are a couple things to watch for.
One is if Palczewski really impresses in training camp, and some other team gets desperate at guard that they make an aggressive trade offer for Powers that the Broncos can’t turn down. I find that to be quite unlikely, but not impossible.
More likely is that come 2027, the Broncos have paved a graceful way to let Powers’s contract expire if they so choose. By treating Palczewski very well financially now, they have made an investment to be more flexible at guard next season by perhaps not needing to aggressively spend in free agency to fill Powers’s void should he leave.
In the short term, the player whose roster security might be under more scrutiny is not Powers, but Matt Peart. He is due $3.5 million in 2026, and none of it is guaranteed. Peart may also be still recovering from a season ending knee injury, which also gives no rush to part ways with him now. But as training camp rolls around, he too might be a player that ends up on the outside, or becomes a mild trade target for a team that needs offensive line help.
Finally, I should note that that the Broncos are among the teams that have been on the rising trend of using six offensive linemen in more formations than usual. Given that trend, it is also possible that that sixth offensive lineman may be getting valued more highly than in the past. If so, this contract could also demonstrate that Denver is ahead of the curve on treating such a player with more value.