NFL fans take notice as Broncos' $85,000,000 feat comes to light: "Gotta hand it to Sean Payton" 

The Denver Broncos may have lost to the Buffalo Bills in the Wild Card round on Sunday afternoon but they still have a lot to be proud of. Broncos quarterback Bo Nix had an impressive rookie season and the team as a whole looked better than they did in 2023.

On Sunday afternoon, Senior NFL reporter Albert Breer shared some insight on the financial aspects of the Denver Broncos' season. Breer reminded fans in a post on X that Denver had $85 million in dead salary cap space that they had to deal with in order to field a team.

"Tremendous season for the Broncos. They carried over $85 million in dead money this year, relied on a ton of young guys on both sides of the ball, and found their quarterback. Going will be tough in the AFC West, but Denver's future is bright," Albert Breer wrote on X.

[Breer] Tremendous season for the Broncos. They carried over $85 million in dead money this year, relied on a ton of young guys on both sides of the ball, and found their quarterback. Going will be tough in the AFC West, but Denver's future is bright. byu/Natural-Tree-5107 innfl

Denver's salary cap woes stemmed from Russell Wilson's $48.5 million contract that they signed him to in 2022. Even though Wilson was released, the quarterback was still owed money from Denver and they were left to deal with the dead cap space.

Fans on Reddit applauded coach Sean Payton for being able to turn the team around in his second season.

Comment byu/Natural-Tree-5107 from discussion innfl

Comment byu/Natural-Tree-5107 from discussion innfl

One fan on the social media platform said that Sean Payton should be in consideration for "Coach of the Year" as he was able to build a playoff caliber team. Others worried that it may be a fluke and that the struggles could return in 2025.

"Probably won't win it, but Payton should be in the CoTY conversation," one fan on Reddit suggested.

"The big thing for Denver is not to fall into the same trap that the Giants did. Payton is really going to have to scrutinize the roster and get better. If he thinks going in with the same team next year is going to be fine, he's going to experience what Daboll did," said one person.

"Tweets like these seem like a kiss of death. Honestly, I never want my team to 'have a bright future' according to the internet. It's like a participation trophy. It's like when people call your NBA team spooky. It's distinctly 'not good,'" one hesitant fan said.

Fans on Reddit continued by saying that the team exceeded their expectations from the offseason. Some didn't know if Bo Nix would be able to compete in such a tough AFC West division. Others were impressed that he held his own in the division amongst stars like Patrick Mahomes and Justin Herbert.

The Broncos' short-lived playoff run was their first postseason appearance since 2015.

"Broncos were a #1 pick contender to me at the beginning of the season. Bo Nix was far better than I anticipated and I underestimated Sean Payton's ability as well. You've got to be really excited about the future of this team," another said.

"In a division with Mahomes and Herbert," one fan impressed with the Broncos' success said.

"I was legit going into the season expecting like 9-7 and a first-round exit because of the cap situation and losing so many players that we depended on. Crazy season," one fan said.

What will the Denver Broncos salary cap look like in 2025?

While the Denver Broncos will still carry a dead salary cap space due to Russell Wilson's contract in 2025, the situation will get better. According to Spotrac, Denver will have $88,000,000 in available cap space heading in to 2025.

The dead salary cap hit from Russell Wilson's contract will drop to $32 million in the 2025 NFL season, a sizeable decrease from the $48 million dead cap hit in 2024.