Denver Broncos Sign Demaryius Thomas to Long-Term Deal, GM John Elway Speaks

The Denver Broncos had a busy day out at Dove Valley on Wednesday. The deadline to sign franchise-tagged players was at 4 p.m. ET, and the Broncos had to make a decision on whether or not to sign wide receiver Demaryius Thomas to a new long-term contract. Things seemed dire with about an hour left to go before the deadline, but things changed quickly as Thomas and the Broncos came to an agreement.

General manager John Elway announced they had reached a five-year agreement with the veteran wide receiver.

“We are thrilled to reach a long-term contract agreement with Demaryius Thomas,” Elway said. “He has developed into one of the top wide receivers in the NFL, and making sure he remained a Denver Bronco was a significant priority for our team.”

Elway continued, “Demaryius is a special talent and an elite player who has also become a team leader during his five NFL seasons. We are very much looking forward to him playing a major role in the success of the Broncos well into the future.”

ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported via Twitter the financials of the deal.

"

Denver and Demaryius Thomas reach agreement on matching 5-year, $70 million deal that includes $43.5M GTD, per source.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) July 15, 2015"

Thomas was one of two first-round picks by the Broncos in the 2010 NFL draft. In five seasons as a pro, Thomas has totaled 351 receptions for 5,317 yards with 41 touchdowns in 69 regular-season games (55 starts).

After the dust settled from this blockbuster deal, Elway was made available via conference call. He sounded elated to get the deal done, and his comments give insight into what transpired today at team headquarters.

Considering Character in Contract Negotiations

Jack Dempsey/Associated Press

Handing out this type of contract comes with a lot of risks. Teams consider everything when negotiating big-money deals. Character is certainly part of the decision.

“I think you look at the player as a whole. You look at the person as a whole. I think that whatever you put to that—whatever percent you put to that—is different in every case.” Elway continued, “But yeah, that’s definitely a part of the decision-making process because of the fact that when you’re paying this kind of money to a player, you’re hoping that you’re doing it for not only the right player on the field, but off the field.”

The 11th Hour of the 11th Hour

Deals get done at deadlines in the NFL. The Broncos waited until the final hour to get things worked out with Thomas and his representatives. Elway acknowledged the clock was ticking early in the day.

“It really started this morning. I think that we had met with [Thomas’ agent] Todd France back in end of May—first of June—and both got our offers on the table. At that point in time, there wasn’t any movement until this morning.” Elway concluded, “Once again, things got going this morning. That’s really when we had get a deal done.”

The when of the agreement doesn’t really matter now. The deal got done, and that’s most important. The team also avoided any sort of fax-machine fiasco like what they had with defensive end Elvis Dumervil years ago.

On Thomas Missing OTAs

Chris Schneider/Associated Press

During minicamp and OTAs, the Broncos worked to install the new offense without Thomas at the facility. Elway was a bit fired up the last time he was asked about Thomas publicly. He knows the negotiation process, but he wanted Thomas at the facility as soon as possible.

“There is no [one] side to this. Everybody thinks about it differently. I think that we’ll just have to be careful with D.T. when he comes into training camp and really manage him and get him up to speed with what we’re doing mentally, but also because he didn’t have the OTAs or the minicamps.”

Elway gave us insight into how they’re going to ease Thomas back into action at training camp.

“We’re going to have to be able to monitor that very closely and make sure that we get him up to speed and don’t take any unnecessary risks with him. It’s part of the business. We’re thrilled that we were able to get the deal done with him and that D.T. is going to be a Bronco for another five years.” Elway summarized, “We have high expectations that he is going to be a big part of the success we have.”

Future Contract Negotiations

JACK DEMPSEY/Associated Press

With Thomas done, the Broncos will eventually start to consider salary options for other players on the roster. The biggest name coming into the final year of his contract is outside linebacker Von Miller. Elway admitted the future played into these negotiations with Thomas.

“We prepare for all of those [scenarios]. We look at what the value is to the Broncos, what we can afford, how that fits into the structure and how that fits into our football team. All of those things are going into consideration when we determine what we’re going to pay somebody.”

Elway frankly stated, “We’re well aware of the people that we have coming up. We have a lot of good football players coming up. But with Demaryius—he’s obviously a big part of that and he’s the first part of trying to keep this football team together. I think it was a very fair deal for both sides.”

Dez Bryant Gets Paid Too

Brandon Wade/Associated Press

Thomas got his deal within an hour of Bryant getting his new contract from the Dallas Cowboys. Elway was asked about any influence that deal had on the agreement with Thomas.

“We had our numbers set up and picked out. We tried to figure out what we believed was the correct value for us and for the Broncos as well as Demaryius. I think it just took a while to get to that point.”

Elway continued, “Any time you have two special football players at the same position that are going into a franchise year, there is always caution that no one jumps the gun. I think it went as long as it went to be able to make sure that everybody—especially from the agent side—that they were where they needed to be.”

Confidence in Future Production

A complication the Broncos had in negotiations had to do with the unknown quarterback of the future. Peyton Manning is under contract for two more years, and he’s clearly in the twilight of his career. Thomas has been incredible with Manning throwing him passes, but his production is likely to drop no matter who takes over at quarterback after Manning is done.

Elway is confident that Thomas will produce at a high level regardless of who is tossing him the rock.

“I think you look at the production that D.T. has had in the last three years. I don’t think there’s any question that D.T. is one of the top wide receivers in the league and he’s being compensated that way now. It’s very well deserved on D.T.’s part.”

Elway emphasized, “We have high expectations. We think he’s coming right into his prime, and we don’t anticipate him backing up at all. The expectations are going to be increased now, and we just think that he has all the skills. Plus with the type of person he is, he’s the type of player and guy that we want on the Denver Broncos. We have a tremendous amount of confidence in D.T., and it’s why we’re comfortable paying this kind of money.”

Peyton’s Reaction

Jack Dempsey/Associated Press

Manning has a favorite target on offense. Thomas was named to his third consecutive Pro Bowl in 2014 after setting a Broncos single-season record with 1,619 receiving yards and ranking second in team history with 111 catches for the year. His 10 games with at least 100 receiving yards in 2014 established a team record and made him one of just seven players in league history to accomplish that feat.

Elway was asked if he talked to Manning after the contract agreement with Thomas.

“I have not talked to Peyton. Demaryius was the target for us this year, and we were able to get that done. If you look at what he has done the past three years and really what he has done since he has been in Denver, you will see he has been a tremendous player for us. He’s an explosive player with big play capabilities.”

Elway talked about what it’s like as a quarterback to have a weapon like Thomas on your team.

“When you look outside and see a guy that is 6-3 and 225 pounds with the ability to score anytime he gets the ball in his hands has the ability to score, it makes you more explosive as an offense and a quarterback.”

The Development of Thomas

Coming out of Georgia Tech, Thomas was not the player he is today. It was hard to know exactly how good he could be as the Yellow Jacket offense didn’t feature the passing game hardly at all. Over the course of his pro career, Thomas has worked diligently to become one of the best wide receivers in the game today.

“I think that he has continued to get better," Elway said. "He’s a hard worker, studies and he’s smart. He is a student of the game. I think that he got bit by the injury bug early in his career and he has been able to fight through that to have three solid years when he’s been healthy.”

Elway concluded, “That’s a maturation process. That’s what we have seen the past three years from Demaryius and what we’ll see for the next five as a big-play guy and a No. 1 receiver.”

Summary

This was the right deal for the Broncos—and for Thomas. He may have been seeking more money than Calvin Johnson received from the Detroit Lions years ago, but the market did not bear that out.

Instead, Thomas agreed to a deal that keeps him in the Mile High City for the foreseeable future.

The Broncos are in a Super Bowl window with Manning under center. After Manning, this team is not going to rebuild—that’s something the Broncos just don’t do. Instead, they’ll work to “win now, and win from now on” as Elway likes to say.

Signing Thomas is evidence of their intent to remain relevant even after Manning’s time in Denver is done.

All quotes and injury/practice observations obtained firsthand. Record/statistical information provided via the Broncos' media department unless otherwise noted. Advanced stats via ESPN's employees-only database.

Contract and salary-cap information provided by Spotrac. Transaction history provided by Pro Sports Transactions.