Sources: Broncos, star CB Pat Surtain agree to 4-year, $96M deal

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- Earlier this year, Denver Broncos general manager George Paton said it would be "a no-brainer" to make sure cornerback Pat Surtain II was in the team's uniform "for a long time."

On Wednesday, the Broncos did just that as they and Surtain's representatives agreed to a record four-year extension worth $96 million overall with $77.5 million in guarantees, sources told ESPN's Adam Schefter.

Surtain, taken ninth overall by the Broncos in the 2021 draft, had the fifth-year option in his rookie contract picked up earlier this year. His new deal will begin in 2026, a source told ESPN, and will keep him under contract in Denver through the 2029 season.

The $24 million average annual value of Surtain's deal is now tops for defensive backs in the NFL, ahead of Tampa Bay Buccaneers safety Antoine Winfield Jr. ($21.025 million) and Green Bay Packers cornerback Jaire Alexander ($21 million). The $77.5 million guaranteed in Surtain's contract is also the most for a defensive back contract.

He is the second member of the Broncos' 2021 draft class to receive an extension this offseason, joining guard Quinn Meinerz, a third-round pick that year, who received a four-year, $80 million extension in July.

The Broncos, including Paton and coach Sean Payton had consistently maintained a deal would get done for Surtain, a two-time Pro Bowl selection. Surtain routinely answered any questions about a new deal with "that will take care of itself if I keep doing what I'm supposed to do, keep working on my craft."

Surtain, 24, has certainly done that. A poll of NFL coaches, personnel executives and scouts conducted by ESPN earlier this year rated Surtain as the top cornerback in the league.

He has played in all but one game in his first three seasons and has been named to the Pro Bowl after each of the past two years to go with a first-team All-Pro selection in 2022. He has seven career interceptions, including four as a rookie, and while Payton has consistently teased him about more "ball production," Surtain has said that is a goal of his own as well despite the fact opposing quarterbacks consistently look the other way.

The Broncos open the season Sunday against the Seattle Seahawks at Lumen Field.

Asked in training camp whether he considered himself in the conversation as the best cornerback in the league, Surtain said, "Of course I'm going to see myself in that regard. I definitely take that role upon my shoulders, for sure, but everybody is going to have their own opinions about it. At the end of the day, I'm just here to play my game and do what's best for the team."

Broncos defensive coordinator Vance Joseph has said Surtain is "special, very special" and added: "I think it's my responsibility, our responsibility as coaches, to make sure people can't just avoid him and stay away. We have ways, and will have ways, to get Pat involved even when offenses don't want him to be."

Surtain has been one of the best Broncos players, if not the best, since he arrived as a rookie. An active player all over the field, he has had at least 58 tackles in each of his three seasons and had a career-best 69 last season, 59 of those solo tackles.

The Broncos, after the release of safeties Kareem Jackson late last season as well as Justin Simmons earlier this year, have a makeover in the secondary underway. And the right cornerback position, opposite of Surtain, was one of the most hotly contested position battles of the preseason.

As the preseason ended, it looked as if  Riley Moss -- a 2023 draft pick -- had won the job.

"I think the team is poised to do great things," Surtain said last week. "Obviously, we have a young team, but [there's] a lot of hungry guys on the team that's looking forward to that next step."