NFL Spin Zone
Fansided

Report: Denver Broncos unwilling to give Demaryius Thomas more than $13 million

By Kevin Parvizi

facebooktwitterreddit

Negotiations between the Denver Broncos and elite wide receiver Demaryius Thomas have been pretty much at a stand-still, and both sides have until 4 p.m. ET time to agree to a deal, otherwise Thomas will have to play out the 2015 season on a franchise tag worth about $12.8 million. Without a long-term deal in place, Thomas’s situation will get even more complicated in 2016 with an even more important part of the organization, Von Miller, set to hit free agency, so that’s also something to keep in mind as we draw closer to the deadline.

ALSO ON SPIN ZONE: Where Does DT Rank Among The NFL’s Top Wideouts?

Bleacher Report’s NFL insider Jason Cole reports that the Broncos are not expected to “budge” from a contract offer worth “nearly” $13 million per year, and Cole emphasizes the fact that the organization wants to show other players how they will do business in the future.

More from Denver Broncos

The hard-line stance from the Broncos isn’t unexpected, because even though Thomas would likely garner more than $13 million per year on the open market, Denver isn’t in the same situation as a WR-needy team that would be subject to a bidding war. They have another top-notch receiver in Emmanuel Sanders, who is safely among the 15 best players at the position after dominating in his first season with the team, and second-year Indiana product Cody Latimer is an uber-athletic beast who could assert himself as Thomas’s heir if he develops properly (this is not a guarantee).

Of course, the Broncos know that Thomas is extremely valuable to them, which is why they’ve offered him a contract that would safely (and deservedly) make him the league’s second-highest paid receiver behind Calvin Johnson. Dez Bryant is the better receiver and will most likely end up being paid more, but that remains to be seen.

Cole confirms that Thomas is looking to earn as much money as Megatron, who makes about $16.2 million per season, which is over $4 million more per year than the next highest-paid receiver on a long-term deal (Minnesota Vikings offseason trade acquisition Mike Wallace, who earned his bucks from former Miami Dolphins GM Jeff Ireland).

There’s no way the Denver Broncos give into Thomas’s demands and pay him greater than $3 million more than what seems to be their ceiling, and John Elway doesn’t strike me as the type of guy who is going to make too many exceptions. Even with Peyton Manning‘s window closing quickly, the Broncos do have Sanders and other solid pieces on offense at tight end and running back, so it’s harder for Thomas to leverage himself against the Broncos than, say, Bryant.

All told, it looks like there’s a greater chance of the Cowboys and Dez finding some middle ground than it does for Demaryius Thomas to ink a long-term deal with the Broncos, unless if he’s willing to take less money to play with Manning and Sanders. That doesn’t seem to be the case, so it looks like we’ll end up hearing about a potential holdout from Thomas, though it’s hard to see that happening.

Next: Is Thomas One Of The NFL's Most Important Players?

More from NFL Spin Zone

Home/Denver Broncos