$120 Million All-Pro Sends Bold Message After Landing Historic Broncos Contract

The Denver Broncos have shown that they will reward their players when they produce, and fourth-year outside linebacker Nik Bonitto is the latest example. He is also the highest-paid. Moreover, the 2024 Second Team All-Pro is ready to reach the next level.

Bonitto signed a four-year extension worth up to $120 million, per Fox Sports’ Jordan Schultz, whose report the OLB shared while sharing his encouraging message.

“Let’s go win this f*ckin chip now!” Bonitto posted on September 4.

Broncos OLB Nik Bonitto Sends Fitting Message After Landing $120M Extension

Bonitto, who turns 26 on September 26, finished third in the league with 13.5 sacks in 2024, and earned Pro Bowl honors. Bonitto entered the league as a second-round pick (No. 64 overall) in the 2022 draft by the Broncos and was on a four-year, $5.8 million rookie scale contract.

His new deal includes $70 million guaranteed. Bonitto followed his post on X with a post saying “LFG!!!!!!!!!!” on Instagram.

“Bonitto is coming off a breakout season with 13.5 sacks and two defensive touchdowns — and now gets rewarded in a major way,” Schultz posted. “Nik Bonitto has become a real star for the #Broncos, and is a true star in Denver. Young star gets rewarded.”

Reactions Pour In After Nik Bonitto’s Extension

Bonitto has been open about his confidence that a deal would eventually get done, especially following the surge in edge rusher contracts in recent years and even months. The Broncos capped what was viewed as a rising cost of doing business by getting a deal done now.

“Nik Bonitto signs a 4-year, $106M extension with the @Broncos making him the highest-paid defensive player in Broncos history,” Bonitto’s agency, Athlete’s First, posted on X.

“Deal negotiated by @ToryDandy of Athletes First.”

“This deal, which has a base value of 4-years and $106M, allows Bonitto security after a 13.5-sack season,” NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport posted. “He did not even begin the season as a starter. Now, gets paid.”

Bonitto’s deal makes him the seventh-highest paid edge rusher in terms of total value and ninth in guaranteed money.

“Good deal for the @Broncos, and Nik Bonitto—who lands at an average per year of $26.5 million,” Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer posted on X. “They got Jonathon Cooper at $13.5 million per earlier this offseason. That means they have two young edge rushers at $40 million per (Cooper thru 2028, Bonitto thru 2029).”

Of course, Bonitto’s deal with the Broncos may not be the best news for everyone.

Broncos Veteran Gets More Bad News

The last man standing among the Broncos’ prominent players in contract years after Bonitto’s deal is defensive lineman John Franklin-Myers. He has also been outspoken about wanting a new deal. He finished with career-highs of 7.0 sacks, 8 tackles for loss, and 40 total stops.

Franklin-Myers has already seen Zach Allen land a four-year, $102 million extension this offseason. Allen was a Second Team All-Pro in 2024 like Bonitto,

Wide receiver Courtland Sutton inked a four-year, $92 million pact.

Over The Cap has the Broncos at $15.2 million in space before Bonitto’s extension is factored in, and more than $48 million in 2026. They could still make a move to extend Franklin-Myers. He is on an expiring two-year, $15 million contract, and he fittingly celebrated Bonitto’s extension.

However, speculation has long been that Franklin-Myers could be on the outside looking in. The Broncos need future financial flexibility, and Bonitto’s deal is another blow.

Lions $2.5 Million DE Sends 4-Word Message to Critics

Detroit Lions defensive end Marcus Davenport is well aware of the critics who question his ability to stay healthy.

Despite those concerns, the team has chosen not to pursue costly, big-name defensive ends, showing the confidence the front office and coaching staff have in the former first-round pick.

After Friday’s practice, Davenport told MLive that the criticism has taken a toll not only on him but also on his family.

Affecting His Family, Davenport Says ‘Of Course I Care’

“Shoot, of course I care. Man, look, I got a heart,” Davenport told MLive. “My family reads stuff. And then there’s the other aspect: (expletive) em’. Honestly, I don’t want to say I get mad, but most people that talk (expletive), I will not trade places with.”

In a sport as physically demanding as football, where players like Davenport put their bodies on the line every week, he explained how he balances maintaining peak condition for himself and his teammates with the drive to silence his doubters.

“It’s hard to compartmentalize that,” he said. “My point, and one thing I’ve been lucky to be able to do, and my dad, I blame him, is to keep going. A lot of stuff upsets me. A lot of stuff still gets to me. I just haven’t been able to stop yet, and so I just trying to keep going.”

Marcus Davenport Was Out Most of the Year With Injury

Drafted No. 14 overall in 2018 to the New Orleans Saints out of UTSA, Davenport played for the Minnesota Vikings in 2023 before signing with the Lions in March 2024.

GettyCHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA – OCTOBER 01: Marcus Davenport #0 of the Minnesota Vikings is congratulated by teammates after a sack Cincinnati Bengals during the fourth quarter at Bank of America Stadium on October 01, 2023 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)

The 29-year-old missed most of last season after suffering an elbow injury in Week 3 against the Arizona Cardinals.

Even though the setback came on a fluke play, many fans remain unconvinced that the Lions have adequate depth behind star Aidan Hutchinson.

The Lions may be one complementary pass rusher away from competing for a Super Bowl.

“I think (Davenport is) a really good player. And I think sometimes the injuries get to give them a knock on him. But it’s football. It’s a collision sport. People run into each other, they get hurt,” said defensive line coach Kacy Rodgers. “So, it’s just part of it. So the thing with him, he wants to take all the reps. He never wants to come off the field. He’s just a really true, hard-nosed football player.”

Marcus Davenport Focused on Maintaining Division Title

Fully healthy, Davenport is now focused on Sunday’s season opener at Lambeau Field against the division-rival Green Bay Packers.

When asked about his return after missing much of last season, he explained that his excitement is less about personal redemption and more about what the moment means for the entire team.

“I think it is going to be awesome because we’ve been able to see our defense, but not exactly in the game situation that we want to,” Davenport said. “But of course there’s gonna be little wrinkles, and I think we have such a good group that we can play off each other, make anything right.”

Kickoff of Lions-Packers is at 4:25 p.m. EDT on CBS.

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