Report: Broncos May Need to 'Overpay' for Free Agents Due to Russell Wilson Situation

The Denver Broncos could have a tough time landing free agents this coming offseason due to fallout from the Russell Wilson situation.

ESPN's Jeremy Fowler reported Saturday on SportsCenter that the Broncos might need to "overpay for free agents" because of how the franchise has handled Wilson's benching.

Broncos head coach Sean Payton revealed earlier this week that Wilson would be benched for the final two games of the regular season in favor of backup Jarrett Stidham.

The Athletic's Dianna Russini then reported that Wilson is expecting to be cut by the Broncos in March. Russini added that over the last two months, Wilson "has been starting knowing the organization was most likely going to move on him from after this season."

Speaking with reporters Friday, Wilson said Denver's front office told him he would be benched if he didn't agree to change the injury guarantee on his contract:

"They came up to me during the bye week and beginning of the bye week, Monday or Tuesday, they told me if I didn't change my contract, my injury guarantee, that I'd be benched the rest of the year. I was definitely disappointed about it. It was a process for the whole bye week. We had just come off beating the Chiefs, I was excited for us fighting for the playoffs and getting on a hot streak. Then the NFLPA and NFL got involved, or whatever, at some point."

Wilson's $37 million salary for 2025 becomes fully guaranteed if he is still on the roster on the fifth day of the 2024 league year. The Broncos signed him to a five-year extension worth $242.5 million in September 2022 after he was acquired in a trade with the Seattle Seahawks.

Fowler suggesting that the Broncos may have to overpay for free agents stands out because if the franchise cuts Wilson, it will incur a dead cap charge of $85 million in 2024. If they designate him as a post-June 1 release, that dead cap charge would be spread out over two years—$35.4 million in 2024 and $49.6 million in 2025.

But to Fowler's point, players may not exactly be interested in suiting up for the Broncos with Payton as the head coach.

On Friday morning's Get Up segment, ESPN's Ryan Clark called Payton's behavior as head coach "unacceptable" and labeled him a "thug."

"Let's be honest: Sean Payton has behaved as a thug since he became the coach of the Denver Broncos. Immediately when he gets in the building, he starts to undercut Russell Wilson personally and professionally from his first press conference on."

"... I don't believe there was a thing Russell Wilson could do to make Sean Payton like him. I think from a personality standpoint it was a bad match. I think schematically it was a bad match. But my point is this, my point is this, let's hold Sean Payton to some sort of professional accountability. His behavior as the head coach of the Denver Broncos is unacceptable. If I'm the Walton family, I do not want somebody representing me this way."

Former Broncos players Kareem Jackson and Randy Gregory agreed with Clark's assessment in response to an Instagram post displaying the ESPN analyst's comments.

Jackson commented, "Da truth RC," and Gregory added, "all facts."

If former players are already speaking their mind about the current situation, things could get even messier for Denver moving forward.

It's hard to imagine the Broncos overpaying for talent when they're already going to be in somewhat of a hold with Wilson's contract, but we'll just have to wait and see what happens.