The Denver Broncos are preparing to kick off their 2025 season and finalizing their roster with signings and extensions. Linebacker Nik Bonitto finalized a four-year contract extension with the Broncos before their Week 1 matchup against the Tennessee Titans. He admitted that he could have pushed for an even bigger extension, too, but did not.
Nik Bonitto and the Denver Broncos agreed to terms on a four-year extension worth up to $120 million with $70 million guaranteed. The strategy was to negotiate as much as possible before the injury risk outweighs playing into the season to haggle over more money.
“Yeah, 100 percent,” Bonitto said. “That's stuff we talked about, whether it was playing this year, knowing my confidence in myself, and the year would have to be where we could make more. But we're an excellent football team if you look at what's in front of us right now.
“I'm a guy I feel like is continuing to grow and being around a team like this that's going to continue to get better and better, why wouldn't I want to set myself up to play here now and continue to grow and build with these guys for the next couple years. Just trying to compete to be at the top of the league.”
Bonitto's admission that he could have earned more, even if it was a little more, when talking to the media, is a testament to the environment at the Denver Broncos.
When he became a full-time starter for the first time last season, Bonitto produced a career-best 13.5 sacks and 48 tackles, helping the Broncos return to the playoffs for the first time since the 2015 season.
He was a second-round pick out of Oklahoma in the 2022 NFL Draft. He had 23 sacks and 92 tackles in his three seasons in 47 games, but his 2024 season was a massive breakout. His signing is the latest signal that the Denver Broncos will have one of the best defenses in the NFL in 2025.
Bonitto's signing finalizes this defense as one of the best in the NFL. Last season, they finished with a league-high six players with at least five sacks. Bonitto also joins Patrick Surtain II, Jonathon Cooper, and Zach Allen as the latest defenders who agreed to a contract extension and maintain this new-look Orange Crush defense.
