Broncos Facing Contract ‘Consequences’ With $20 Million Starter

The Denver Broncos are about to stare down a problem only the NFL’s elite franchises are fortunate enough to have — too much talent and not enough money to go around.

That problem is going to be particularly pronounced in the secondary following the 2026 season, when the Broncos face some impossibly tough decisions.

Spotrac’s Michael Ginnitti put Broncos safety Brandon Jones at the top of his list of 2027 “free agents of consequence” as he heads into the final season of a 3-year, $20 million contract in 2026.

It’s no coincidence the Broncos’ defense became elite once Jones came on board as a free agent before the 2024 season. It’s also no coincidence the defense took a noticeable dip when he suffered a season-ending injury with 3 games left in the regular season in 2025.

The problem for the Broncos is Jones isn’t 1st in line to get paid — he’s likely behind outside cornerback Riley Moss and slot cornerback Ja’Quan McMillian, who are also in line for massive contracts.

Moss is projected to land a contract that could pay him somewhere in the vicinity of $20 million per year. McMillian, who made the Broncos as an undrafted free agent, is playing on a 2nd-round tender that will pay him $5.8 million in 2026.

In June, ESPN’s Aaron Schatz put giving Jones a contract extension as the No. 1 priority for the Broncos before training camp began.

“The Broncos have three members of their secondary set to hit free agency after the 2026 season,” Schatz wrote. “They might be willing to let Ja’Quan McMillian leave because they have 2025 first-round pick Jahdae Barron waiting in the wings. They also might want to wait on Riley Moss and see if he can clean up some of his pass interference issues. That leaves safety Jones. At 28, he’s the oldest of the three players, but he’s an important part of this defense and a big reason Denver ranked third in DVOA against passes up the middle in 2025. It would be good to extend Jones another couple of seasons to keep the back end of the Broncos’ defense strong.”

If we’re taking a wild stab at what Jones’ next contract might look like, a 2-year, $15 million contract offer seems like a fair starting point — a slight raise for Jones that also takes into account he’ll turn 30 years old before the deal runs out.

Jones has been nothing but high impact since the moment he signed a 3-year, $20 million free-agent contract with the Broncos in March 2024.

In his 1st season in Denver, he helped the Broncos end an 8-year postseason drought with 115 tackles, 3 interceptions, and 10 pass deflections in 16 games. In 2025, with Jones paired with NFL All-Pro safety Talanoa Hufanga, outside cornerbacks Patrick Surtain II and Moss, and McMillian, the slot cornerback, the Broncos were as good as any NFL secondary.

Jones had 78 tackles, 1 interception, and 7 pass deflections in 14 games before his injury.

With that group back in 2026, the Broncos could very well have the NFL’s best secondary.

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