The Broncos have found the cash and the cap space to lock up another key player for the foreseeable future, and receiver Emmanuel Sanders is guaranteed to make $20 million because of it.
That’s the amount he’s fully guaranteed to earn at signing, per a source with knowledge of the contract. It’s the highest guarantee for a No. 2 receiver in the league. (That said, $5.6 million of that amount -- his salary for 2016 -- became guaranteed as a practical matter on Wednesday.)
In all, it’s a three-year, $33 million extension, with $26.9 million in total guarantees. The $11 million new-money average puts him in the top 12 of all NFL receivers.
He’ll make $13.25 million in 2016 and $6.75 million in 2017, all of which is fully guaranteed. A $6.9 million injury guarantee for 2018 converts to a full guarantee on the fifth day of the 2018 league year. His total salary for 2018 stands at $8.25 million.
In 2019, Sanders is due to receive a non-guaranteed salary of $10.25 million.
Given the tenuous quarterback situation in Denver, the Broncos now have a lot of money tied up in Sanders and Demaryius Thomas. That’s all the more reason to think that, if Trevor Siemian can’t get it done, the ball eventually will be given to Paxton Lynch, if not sooner.