The Tampa Bay Buccaneers made safety Antoine Winfield Jr. the highest-paid defensive back in NFL history earlier this week by signing him to a four-year contract extension worth $84.1 million with $45 million in guarantees. Winfield Jr. just reset the market for defensive backs. It will have a profound impact on upcoming negotiations.
The next highest-paid secondary player in league history could be Denver Broncos cornerback Patrick Surtain II.
Surtain is currently slated to enter the fourth and final season of his original four-year rookie contract agreement. He'll earn a base salary of $1.055 million with a guaranteed salary of $3.5 million. Broncos general manager George Paton has already triggered the fifth-year option on Surtain, keeping him under contract through 2025 at a fully guaranteed sum of $19.8 million for that season. It was a no-brainer, but Surtain remains eligible to sign an extension this summer.
Surtain enjoyed a dominant campaign in 2023. The former Alabama standout made his second consecutive trip to the Pro Bowl after recording 69 tackles and 12 passes defended. Pro Football Focus credited Surtain with allowing just a 62.9% completion percentage when targeted in coverage. Surtain was also a First-Team All-Pro selection in 2022.
While Winfield Jr. is now the highest-paid secondary player on an annual basis, it's Cleveland Browns cornerback Denzel Ward who has the highest total-value contract after previously signing a five-year extension worth $100 million. Other contracts that Surtain's representation will be studying ahead of negotiations include the ones signed by Green Bay Packers cornerback Jaire Alexander (four years, $84 million) and Miami’s Jalen Ramsey (five years, $100 million). Those deals serve as starting points for discussions.
Cornerback contracts have remained somewhat stagnant for whatever reason. The last big deal signed by a cornerback was the five-year, $97 million extension ($19.4 million annually) signed by Trevon Diggs with the Dallas Cowboys. Ward and Alexander are the only cornerbacks to surpass $20 million per year, and both of those extensions were signed two years ago.
I expect Surtain (and eventually Sauce Gardner, perhaps next offseason), to shatter all of the above-mentioned contracts on a per-year basis. With two existing seasons remaining on Surtain's deal, I don't see him signing a five-year extension, meaning he may not meet Ward at the $100 million mark. But I do expect Surtain to become the highest-paid defensive back in NFL history from an annual standpoint.
Surtain could sign a four-year extension worth $96 million that approaches, or slightly surpasses, $50 million in total guarantees. Surtain would earn $24 million per season under such an agreement. It's time for a cornerback to usher the top-performing players at the position into the mid-$20 million per year territory, and Surtain is the appropriate player to reset a slow-moving market.
Surtain is arguably the current face of Denver's franchise (at least until, or if, Bo Nix establishes himself). Despite possessing two more years of full control over Surtain's contract, Paton and head coach Sean Payton should negotiate with their all-star cornerback in good faith considering what he means to the organization. The Broncos should sign Surtain to a record-shattering extension this summer.
