ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Outside linebacker Nik Bonitto and the Denver Broncos reached agreement Thursday on a four-year, $106 million extension that includes $70 million guaranteed, Athletes First announced.
The deal can be worth up to $120 million if Bonitto reaches incentives in the contract negotiated by agent Tory Dandy, sources told ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
The deal will run through the 2029 season and make Bonitto the highest-paid non-quarterback in Broncos history.
Nik Bonitto signs a 4-year, $106M extension with the @Broncos making him the highest-paid defensive player in Broncos history ‼️🐴
Deal negotiated by @ToryDandy of Athletes First. pic.twitter.com/vr7mfZXajy
— Athletes First (@AthletesFirst) September 4, 2025
“There’s no amount of gratitude I could show that shows how appreciative I am of everybody involved,” Bonitto said after practice Thursday.
Turns out Bonitto is just as good at predictions as he is at chasing down quarterbacks. Bonitto, who was scheduled to be an unrestricted free agent next March, said less than three weeks ago that he expected a new deal to get done.
Bonitto’s deal essentially completes an offseason trifecta for the Broncos, who have signed wide receiver Courtland Sutton (four years, $92 million), defensive lineman Zach Allen (four years, $102 million) and now Bonitto to long-term extensions since training camp opened.
The Broncos, including general manager George Paton and coach Sean Payton, and Bonitto have consistently expressed optimism that a deal would get done for their second-round pick of the 2022 draft (64th overall).
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Bonitto said Thursday that he was happy the contract was done with little to no drama. He took part in the Broncos’ offseason program, training camp and preseason opener while the two sides continued to hammer out the deal.
“The main thing was I didn’t want to be that guy where my teammates were looking at me in a selfish way where I’m putting myself over the team,” Bonitto said. “And at the end of the day too, I want to get my work in, I want to be ready for Tennessee whenever that game came.”
Bonitto said the belief in the locker room that the team is playoff-ready — the Broncos lost 31-7 to the Buffalo Bills in the wild-card round to end the 2024 season — contributed to his desire to get a deal done and remain with Denver.
“Obviously, that was stuff we talked about — playing this year knowing the confidence I have in myself and the year I was going to have to where we could make more,” Bonitto said. “But it’s like if you look at all the things in front of us right now, we’re a really good football team … just being around a team like this that’s getting better and better, why wouldn’t I want to set myself up to play here?”
Bonitto, 25, has steadily moved himself into the conversation regarding the NFL’s most impactful edge players. He was a second-team All-Pro last season and earned his first Pro Bowl selection while leading the Broncos with 13.5 sacks, part of Denver’s league-leading 63.
He also finished with career bests in tackles (48) and quarterback hits (24) while scoring touchdowns on an interception return and a fumble return. Denver’s coaches said Bonitto played the run better than ever last season.
It’s the continuation of a career arc that has seen him develop from a 1.5-sack season as a rookie, when he played 357 snaps, to the high-end disrupter who made the most of his 708 snaps in 2024.
“The best for Nik is ahead of him,” defensive coordinator Vance Joseph said. “… He’s so humble, he’s still working, the best is ahead of him. … He’s a guy who was negotiating a contract the entire camp, never one word about not practicing, never one word about sitting out. He played through an ankle and foot injury for two weeks, and he didn’t say a word.”
Bonitto had a bone spur removed from a foot during training camp, so he did not play in the Broncos’ last two preseason games. He did show all of what he has to offer in a 12-play stint in the preseason opener, however. In a three-play span against the San Francisco 49ers — 88 seconds of game time — he had a sack, a near sack that forced 49ers quarterback Mac Jones to step up into a sack by John Franklin-Myers, and a heated pursuit that resulted in Jones throwing the ball away to avoid a 25-yard loss.
Bonitto said in recent weeks that he had arrived for the Broncos’ offseason program in April about 8 pounds heavier than last season because he wanted to test how he felt in his movements in drills. He liked what he saw and how he moved, and he said he arrived at training camp at around 248 pounds.
“Obviously, it’s nice to have some money, but that’s not the end goal for me,” Bonitto said. “I had goals way bigger than that coming into the league, and I’m just going to keep working to try and achieve those things.”
