CONTRACT WATCH: Courtland Sutton Wants $20M/Year — But Says Deal with Broncos is “Going in the Right Direction”

Denver Broncos wide receiver Courtland Sutton is coming off a redemptive, rejuvenating 2024 campaign. Back on the right side of 1,000 yards receiving, Sutton seemed to regain his pre-injury stride last season with Bo Nix throwing him the ball.

The fly in the ointment is that Sutton now enters a contract year. While the Broncos' brass have spoken positively about Sutton being a part of the vision moving forward, he's purportedly seeking compensation that would put him in the $20 million/year range.

In a vacuum, that's the going rate for a No. 1 receiver coming off a 1,000-yard season. But Sutton is entering his age-30 season, which muddies the water somewhat for the Broncos' negotiations.

The good news? Sutton recently told The Denver Post's Parker Gabriel that his contractual talks with the Broncos are "going in the right direction."

“My team has had a really good conversation with the guys up there in the front office, and I think it’s working in the right direction,” Sutton said via Gabriel. “Ultimately, you just want to know you’re working in the right direction. I think they see and have seen what I’ve brought to the team.

“I’m open and optimistic about the fact that I’ll be able to be here for the rest of my career.”

That's music to Nix's ears, no doubt. And likely to that of Broncos Country.

Sutton has been one of the Broncos' marquee players who suffered the years-long depredations of organizational instability. Look no further than his Pro Bowl campaign of 2019.

The Broncos won seven games, but Sutton produced nearly 1,200 receiving yards and six touchdowns catching passes from three different starting quarterbacks, one of whom was a rookie. Sutton was on a roll... then he tore his ACL in Week 2 of the ill-fated 2020 campaign.

The veteran wideout bounced back in time to be available for the 2021 season. But like all athletes recovering from such an injury, it takes time to get their game legs beneath them again.

Sutton would average 792 receiving yards over the ensuing three seasons. Then Nix arrived in 2024 via the first round of the draft. That changed everything, not only for Sutton, but the entire Broncos organization.

The Broncos won 10 games and made the playoffs for the first time in Sutton's career. Cut to 2025, and Sutton is poised to play on the last year of the four-year, $60.1 million extension received back in 2021.

He'll make $13.5 million in base salary this year, unless the Broncos extend him. It's very possible.

"Courtland is one of our guys," Broncos GM George Paton said back at the NFL Combine. "He’s a team captain. I’ve said this for a couple years in a row, we want him here. We’ll have those discussions at the right time.”

We learned from Paton recently that the "right time" will be after the draft. Historically, that's when Paton turns his scrutiny to negotiations with current players on extensions. The likes of Patrick Surtain II and Quinn Meinerz are recent examples of Paton getting extensions done in the summer.

There's a chance negotiations with Sutton could stretch into the regular season, which also is familiar territory for Paton. Just last fall, Paton extended Garett Bolles and Jonathon Cooper in-season, so don't rule out the same for Sutton.

Another factor that complicates Sutton's negotiations is the number of other deserving Broncos in line for an extension and also entering a contract year. All-Pro defenders like Nik Bonitto and Zach Allen must also be addressed by the Broncos' front office, although the time frame for an accord could stretch into next offseason, technically.

Time will tell when and how Sutton gets extended. But, reading the tea leaves, Broncos Country has every reason to expect him to stick around. When last we heard from him, on the heels of the Broncos signing tight end Evan Engram, Sutton sounded elated.

Sutton skipped the voluntary portion of OTAs last offseason, but he was also rehabbing from a procedure in Florida. It will be interesting to see if he skips OTAs again this year, but I seriously doubt it. He'll want those reps with Nix.