The truth behind staggering amount the Denver Broncos still had to pay for signing Russell Wilson in 2022
The Denver Broncos were one of the worst teams in the league over the last few years, but this year they bounced back with a trip to the AFC Championship.
The Denver Broncos are still licking their wounds after a heartbreaking loss in the AFC Championship, but they have been healing another wound for the last few years now. Russell Wilson hasn’t been a Denver Bronco since 2023, but he is still collecting checks from them, and fat ones at that.
Broncos Wilson gamble busts
The Super Bowl winning quarterback left his long time post as starting quarterback of the Seattle Seahawks back in 2022 and set sail for Denver who signed him to a massive contract extension hoping he would be the quarterback of the future. That plan didn’t quite work out as everyone planned.
Wilson came to the Mile High City with newly appointed head coach Nathaniel Hackett back in 2022, and things turned sour in a hurry. The Broncos went 4-11 for Hackett was let go and eventually replaced Sean Payton who made it clear in his first season that Wilson wasn’t his choice to lead the Broncos under center and ended up benching him towards the end of the 2023 season.
Breaking: Broncos and Russell Wilson just reached agreement on a five-year, $245 million contract extension that includes $165 million guaranteed, sources tell ESPN.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) September 1, 2022
Deal now ties Wilson to Denver for seven total years and $296 million. Another massive QB deal in the books. pic.twitter.com/uk6yelOL3j
When Wilson left Seattle, he was still considered one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL. That’s why the Broncos signed him for a five-year, $245 million contract that they are still paying him to this day. In his contract included $165 million guaranteed.
Wilson still hitting Broncos cap space
The Broncos released Wilson in March of 2024 and have been paying for it ever since. While the money isn’t going directly to Wilson, it did take a big chunk of Denver’s dead cap space his year. He cost the Broncos $32 million in salary cap space. The money may not go right to Wilson, but it hindered Denver when it came to signing and playing players.
A piece of Capsheetigami:💰
— QBgami (@QBgami) January 20, 2026
The Broncos are currently paying Russell Wilson more money than their entire offensive skill unit for their 2025 AFC Championship game (including Bo Nix).
$32M: Russell Wilson
$31.7M: Stidham, Nix, Harvey, Sutton, Franklin, Bryant, Engram pic.twitter.com/RB7bV3NgS3
The amount is astonishing considering he has played a snap of football for the Broncos since Christmas Day back in 2023. What makes this even more amazing is the Broncos paid less for all of their starting skill players which includes Jarett Stidham, Bo Nix, Courtland Sutton, RJ Harvey, Tory Franklin, Pat Bryant and Evan Engram.
Despite the Broncos being strapped for cash this season, they used their squad full of underdogs to win the one seed in the AFC. They got to the AFC Championship despite Bo Nix breaking his ankle late in the game against the Buffalo Bills in the Divisional Round. Jarett Stidham came in at QB and just narrowly missed out on taking Denver back to the Super Bowl for the first time since 2015.
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