Courtland Sutton says his new deal with the Broncos ‘wasn’t about me’

One of the better wide receivers in all of football in the 2024 season is now set to be under contract with the Denver Broncos for the long haul. Recently, the Broncos and veteran Courtland Sutton agreed to terms on a four-year, $92 million contract extension that includes $41 million in guarantees.

Sutton is on track to make quite a bit of money over the next several seasons of his NFL career, but he implied that he left money on the table with his new deal with Denver.

“It wasn’t about me,” Sutton told Sean Keeler of the Denver Post. “At the end of the day, yes, we work in a business of compensation.

“(There’s) talent in that locker room, guys that are coming up, that are trying to get their second contract. I was blessed to be able to get my third. They put the work in just the same way as I have. And some of those guys have more accolades than I have when it comes to the NFL side of things … and to be able to sign the deal that we did, it gives us a chance to keep those guys around.”

As he aimed to lock down a new deal, the 29-year-old was seemingly very much aware of the fact that Denver has key players heading into contract years.

“1,000 percent,” he said when asked if he was conscious of that. “1,000 percent.”

He indicated that the money he left on the table will help the Broncos field competitive teams in the years to follow.

“The deal that we wound up signing is a great deal, and it was very beneficial to myself,” he said. “And it gives us a chance to be able to keep a lot of really good players around on this team and for years to come.”

Sutton enjoyed a standout season with the Broncos before coming to terms with the team on an extension, as he totaled 1,081 receiving yards across 17 games and 13 starts in the 2024 season and was one of 24 players in the league to reach quadruple digits in that stat.

He was Denver’s best receiver a season ago by leaps and bounds, too. No other player for the Broncos ended the campaign with more than 503 receiving yards, and Sutton ranked tops on the team in receiving touchdowns as well with eight.

But even though Sutton was one of the premier players at his position last season, the Broncos will have to hope that their long-term deal with him ages well. After all, he is just over two months away from his 30th birthday, and he’s finished with more than 829 receiving yards in a single season just twice in his career.

It’s not out of the realm of possibility that Sutton’s standout campaign was a flash in the pan and he will revert back to his former self next season, a player that’s good for anywhere between 700 and 800 receiving yards per season. That, of course, wouldn’t be a horrible scenario, since that type of yardage is still valuable.

Whether Sutton will be able to replicate his production from a season ago in the 2025 campaign will be a storyline to follow for the Broncos. Denver will try for its second playoff appearance in a row after it won 10 games in the 2024 season.