ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — The Denver Broncos have seemed to excel at change and not much else in recent years, but owners Greg and Carrie Penner have consistently said there is a plan to get the franchise where it needs to be. Carrie Penner referenced making the Broncos “the best team to play for, to work for and to cheer for.”

And as the swarms of construction workers begin to build the Broncos’ lavish new office complex that is slated to open in 2026, the team took a major on-field step Wednesday by keeping a foundational player to build a defense around.

The four-year, $96 million contract extension with $77.5 million guaranteed for cornerback Pat Surtain II will also kick in for the 2026 season and is scheduled to keep him with the Broncos through the 2029 season. It will make Surtain — at least for now in the NFL’s fast-paced, ever-changing contract world — the highest-paid defensive back in league history.

But it also serves as a signal to the rest of the locker room that the Broncos want to keep their own stars — that free agency isn’t the only way to get a big contract from the franchise.

Surtain is regarded in his own locker room as the team’s best player and was Denver’s biggest piece of unfinished contract business. He is slated to play on the fifth-year option of his rookie deal in 2025, which the Broncos picked up earlier this year.

The Broncos also now avoid any preseason contract drama next year, like Surtain staying away from the offseason program while negotiating a new deal. And he would have been one of the most sought-after free agents if he ever hit the market.

Here’s a look at what the new deal means for the Broncos and Surtain:

What does Surtain’s contract extension mean for the Broncos’ defense?

On several occasions, defensive coordinator Vance Joseph has said that Surtain is the rarest of players, a “special, special guy in coverage.”

Surtain has also been durable — he has missed only one game in his three-year career (the season finale in his rookie year) and rarely misses practice outside of the coaches dialing him back from precautionary reasons. He has seven interceptions in his three seasons and tied for seventh in the NFL with 10 pass breakups in 2023. He is reliable, steadfast in his preparation and has improved each season in the league.

The deal gives the Broncos a franchise-level player at one of the most important positions on defense. They can now build around Surtain on the depth chart and construct a long-term gameplan without any “maybes” about his contractual future.

Joseph said one of his goals this season, with an improved defensive line that includes new additions John Franklin-Myers and Malcolm Roach, was to create more stress on opposing quarterbacks so they couldn’t willingly avoid Surtain as often as they have in the past.

Teams have often moved their top receiver away from Surtain after a snap or two early in the game. Joseph said, “We have to do a better job as coaches to make sure quarterbacks can’t just say ‘I’m not going at him’ … We want him around the ball even if they don’t.”

What does it mean for the Broncos’ salary cap, both now and down the road?

When the Broncos made the historic decision to end the Russell Wilson experiment after just 30 starts and one monstrous contract extension, they also voluntarily locked up their salary cap for two years. Wilson’s March release plopped the biggest dead money hit on the Broncos’ financial lap since the league’s salary cap was introduced in 1994.

The $85 million went on the books for the next two seasons — this one and 2025 — with $53 million hitting this year. That has limited the Broncos’ ability to do much roster building from the outside despite having the league’s biggest checkbook, held by the league’s wealthiest ownership group.

After aggressively participating in free agency in 2023, the Broncos were far more measured this time around, as safety Brandon Jones (three years, $20 million) was the only player brought in from elsewhere with a deal that was more than two years and worth more than $9 million overall.

They have structured Surtain’s deal to help that money crunch. The extension won’t formally kick in, in terms of contract years and base salaries, until the 2026 season, when the Broncos have escaped their salary cap constrictions from the Wilson release.

For his part, Surtain gets plenty of cash in the months to come, including just under $40 million over the next calendar year. But this deal works for both sides and the Broncos will have fully moved on from the Wilson damage by the time Year 1 of Surtain’s extension kicks in.

With the deal done, what’s Denver’s next priority?

Surtain was easily the team’s biggest, most important, most need-to-get-something-done free agent question.

With the deal done, the Broncos can now concentrate on bolstering a depth chart that needs plenty of work. After all, the team has been an elite agent of change during its current eight-year playoff drought.

Sean Payton is the team’s fourth head coach, including interim Jerry Rosburg, since the end of the 2021 season. Rookie Bo Nix will be 14th player overall to start a game behind center since the Broncos won Super Bowl 50 to conclude the 2015 season.

Tackle Garett Bolles, the team’s first-round pick in the 2017 draft and now the longest-tenured Broncos player after safety Justin Simmons‘ release this past offseason, is the most notable free agent entering next offseason. Bolles will turn 33 next May but has been a mainstay in one of the league’s most expensive offensive lines — four of the Broncos’ top six salary cap charges this year are on the offensive front.

Backup quarterbacks Jarrett Stidham and Zach Wilson, acquired in an April trade with the New York Jets, are also slated to be unrestricted free agents after the season. So, the Broncos have decisions to make about the quarterback depth chart that will help with Nix’s development.