The man captains Wal-Mart, after all, and can afford to throw around a few extra bucks.
Still, the degree to which Greg Penner and the Walton-Penner ownership group have flexed their financial muscles in Denver is stunning, ever since taking hold of the Broncos in 2022. There was an immediate $100 million dedicated to upgrades at Empower Field. And a league-high $200 million committed to free agents in 2023. And a hard-swallow $85 million to cut bait early with Russell Wilson.
This offseason has been no different, as the Broncos jostle in the free-agency arms race to establish themselves as serious contenders in 2025.
“We have a great nucleus and a great, great quarterback to build around,” Penner said at an end-of-season presser in January. “And we haven’t set yet what our approach to free agency will be, but if it’s appropriate, we’ll be aggressive. But I’m not sure we’ll need to do that.”
Dear reader: They did it anyway. Without even counting their re-signings, the Broncos are planning to commit around $106 million in non-guaranteed, total contract value between key signings Evan Engram, Dre Greenlaw and Talanoa Hufanga.
But did the Broncos shell out too aggressively this week, committing big money to three players coming off injury-riddled seasons? Or, alternatively, did they unearth major value, nabbing high-upside upgrades on multi-year deals? Let’s examine the free-agent market at each position Denver targeted, with salary data collected from available reports and OverTheCap.com.
Tight end
Mobile users, tap here to see the chart.
| Name | Team | Age | Term | Total Salary | Avg. Salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|||||
| Evan Engram | Broncos | 30 | 2 years | $23m | $11.5m |
| 2024 stats: 47 REC, 365 YDS, 1 TD (9 games) | |||||
|
|
|||||
| Juwan Johnson | Saints (re-signed) | 28 | 3 years | $30.75m | $10.25m |
| 2024 stats: 50 REC, 548 YDS, 3 TD (17 games) | |||||
|
|
|||||
| Mike Gesicki | Bengals (re-signed) | 29 | 3 years | $25.5m | $8.5m |
| 2024 stats: 65 REC, 665 YDS, 2 TD (17 games) | |||||
|
|
|||||
| Luke Farrell | 49ers | 27 | 3 years | $20.25m | $6.75m |
| 2024 stats: 12 REC, 67 YDS, 0 TD (17 games) | |||||
|
|
|||||
| Zach Ertz | Commanders (re-signed) | 34 | 1 year | $6.25m | $6.25m |
| 2024 stats: 66 REC, 654 YDS, 7 TD (17 games) | |||||
|
|
|||||
| Austin Hooper | Patriots (re-signed) | 30 | 1 year | $5m | $5m |
| 2024 stats: 45 REC, 476 YDS, 3 TD (17 games) | |||||
Analysis: There’s no better way to put it — the Broncos got a coup with Engram. In a fairly thin free-agent tight-end class, the former two-time Pro Bowler was clearly both the best name on the market and the best fit for head coach Sean Payton’s attack.
Yes, Engram was the most expensive signing of the crop, and there’s some injury concern after his 2024 season ended prematurely with a torn labrum. But the Broncos are paying just $1.25 million more a year for Engram than the Saints are for Johnson, who just totaled a career-high 50 grabs in 2024 in 17 games. Engram had 47 catches in nine games. Steal.
Inside linebacker
Mobile users, tap here to see the chart.
| Name | Team | Age | Term | Total Salary | Avg. Salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|||||
| Zack Baun | Eagles (re-signed) | 28 | 3 years | $51m | $17m |
| 2024 stats: 151 TKL, 11 TFL, 3.5 SK, 1 INT (16 games) | |||||
|
|
|||||
| Jamien Sherwood | Jets (re-signed) | 25 | 3 years | $45m | $15m |
| 2024 stats: 158 TKL, 10 TFL, 2 SK, 0 INT (17 games) | |||||
|
|
|||||
| Nick Bolton | Chiefs | 25 | 3 years | $45m | $15m |
| 2024 stats: 106 TKL, 11 TFL, 3 SK, 1 INT (16 games) | |||||
|
|
|||||
| Dre Greenlaw | Broncos | 27 | 3 years | $35m | $11.67m |
| 2024 stats: 9 TKL, 0 TFL, 0.0 SK, 0 INT (2 games) | |||||
|
|
|||||
| Robert Spillane | Patriots | 29 | 3 years | $33m | $11m |
| 2024 stats: 158 TKL, 10 TFL, 2 SK, 2 INT (17 games) | |||||
|
|
|||||
| Ernest Jones | Seahawks (re-signed) | 25 | 3 yr | $28.5m | $9.5m |
| 2024 stats: 138 TKL, 4 TFL, 0.5 SK, 1 INT (16 games) | |||||
Analysis: Hard to grade this one properly. If Greenlaw can return to the form he showed in 2022 and 2023 as a linchpin with the San Francisco 49ers, this is solid value. If he’s not the same guy after tearing his ACL in Super Bowl 58, this is an overpay.
One likely reason why Denver sprung on Greenlaw: his coverage skills. According to Next Gen Stats, he recorded the fewest receptions-over-expected of any linebacker in the NFL in 2023.
Safety
Mobile users, tap here to see the chart.
| Name | Team | Age | Term | Total salary | Avg. salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|||||
| Tre’Von Moehrig | Panthers | 25 | 3 years | $51m | $17m |
| 2024 stats: 104 TKL, 5 TFL, 1 SK, 2 INT (17 games) | |||||
|
|
|||||
| Jevon Holland | Giants | 25 | 3 years | $45.3m | $15.1m |
| 2024 stats: 62 TKL, 2 TFL, 1 SK, 0 INT (15 games) | |||||
|
|
|||||
| Talanoa Hufanga | Broncos | 26 | 3 years | $45m | $15m |
| 2024 stats: 38 TKL, 2 TFL, 0 SK, 0 INT (7 games) | |||||
|
|
|||||
| Cam Bynum | Colts | 26 | 4 years | $60m | $15m |
| 2024 stats: 96 TKL, 2 TFL, 0 SK, 3 INT (17 games) | |||||
|
|
|||||
| Justin Reid | Saints | 28 | 3 years | $31.5m | $10.5m |
| 2024 stats: 87 TKL, 5 TFL, 0 SK, 2 INT (16 games) | |||||
|
|
|||||
| Jeremy Chinn | Raiders | 27 | 2 years | $16.258m | $8.1m |
| 2024 stats: 117 TKL, 7 TFL, 2 SK, 1 INT (17 games) | |||||
Analysis: The safety market was all over the place this offseason. Chinn was the best value here, a good grab by Denver’s division-rival Raiders. $45 million over three years might seem steep for Hufanga considering he’s taken a slight step back the past couple of injury-riddled years, but if he regains his All-Pro form of 2022, he’d easily become the best player from the market.
That’s worth a swing for the Broncos, his floor similar to the rest of this free-agent crop and his ceiling a class above.
