2026 NFL cap  $       301,200,000

Denver Bronco 2026 Salary % of 2026 cap

1 Nik Bonito   $  26,500,000 8.8%

2 Zach Allen   $  25,500,000 8.5%

3 Patrick Surtain II $  24,000,000 8.0%

4 Courtland Sutton  $  23,000,000 7.6%

5 Garett Bolles   $  20,000,000 6.6%

6 Quinn Meinerz $  18,000,000 6.0%

7 Mike McGlinchey  $  17,500,000 5.8%

8 Jonathan Cooper  $  15,000,000 5.0%

9 Talanoa Hufanga  $   13,000,000 4.3%

10 D.J. Jones   $   13,000,000 4.3%

11 Ben Powers   $   12,875,000 4.3%

12 Luke Wattenberg  $ 12,000,000 4.0%

13 Evan Engram   $  11,500,000 3.8%

Totals $ 231,875,000 77%

The source for this information is Spotrac. The list shows the highest‑paid players on the Broncos roster. As you can see, 13 players account for 77% of the salary cap. This helps explain why the Broncos have not been very active in free agency—they are paying their own players, and in many cases paying them very well (arguably overpaying for some, but all teams are forced to do this, mainly because players level of play can be unpredictable year to year). There just is not much room to sign expensive free agents when you have 40 other players to pay with less than $70 million payroll left.

Let’s jump to future. Based on Nix’s career projection, assuming no additional serious injuries, or a significant performance drop off, he is likely to earn $45–55 million per year in 2028/2029, depending how contract is done after 4th year. At today’s cap levels, that would represent approximately 15–18% of the NFL salary cap. (Even if the cap increases, Nix’s salary will likely rise as well, so the percentage of the cap probably will not change much.)

If you look at the current list, remove 2 to 4 top‑paid players, I know the specific players will not be the same, some may be traded, released, or have their contracts restructured, but when Nix signs his deal, the team will effectively lose high quality, albeit high‑salary contributors. Their replacements will almost certainly be lower‑tier players making less money and, in many cases, offering less production.

The bottom line is that the Broncos have significantly less roster and cap flexibility than many fans believed. The team obviously is investing in continuity, but even if they went more with free agents, the Broncos likely have a narrow two‑ to three‑year window to realistically win a Super Bowl. After that it is not impossible for an SB, of course, but it becomes much more difficult (see Joe Burrow, Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson).