Mile High Report
Which undrafted free agents did the Broncos pay the most to sign?
The Broncos initially signed seventeen undrafted free agents and then waived two of them. Of the fifteen who are still on the 90 man roster, thirteen of them have some money guaranteed, even it is just their signing bonus. Below are the guaranteed salaries for the 2025 UDFAs along with their signing bonuses. I’ll note that many of our drafted players got zero guaranteed, but many of our veterans also have zero guaranteed.
In terms of of the biggest recent Bronco UDFA guaranteed salaries; in 2022 Christopher Allen got $180k, in 2021 Drew Himmelman got $150k, and in 2019 Brett Rypien got $146k. UDFAs tend to get guaranteed money because they have a much greater chance of not making the team than draftees. So at least they walk away from the Broncos with enough money to make a down payment on a house.
Three of the UDFAs from 2024 played in a game for the Broncos last season, Blake Watson, Frank Crum and Levelle Bailey. Watson got $275k guaranteed. Crum got $250k and Bailey got $140k. I didn’t look up the other twelve from last year. But you can if you wish at overthecap.com
There were four from 2023 who played either in 2023 or 2024 for the Broncos, Jaleel McLaughlin, Nate Adkins, Alex Palczewski, and Thomas Incoom. McLaughlin got $40k guaranteed. Adkins got $65k. AP got $60k and Incoom got $180k.
There were three in 2022 who got or have gotten playing time for the Broncos, Brandon Johnson, Ja’Quan McMillian and Jalen Virgil. Johnson got $10k. McMillian got $75k and Virgil got $43k. McMillian is the only UDFA who has become a starter for the Broncos recently. By starter, I mean a player that started more than 7 games in a season.
Essang Bassey and Kendall Hinton made the team and started a few games for Denver from the 2020 UDFA crop. Hinton got $15k guaranteed and Bassey got $20k.
Along with Rypien, the 2019 crop had Quinn Bailey, Trinity Benson, Alijah Holder, Malik Reed and Josh Watson. Bailey got $3k. Benson got $1k. Holder and Reed both got $30k. Watson for $8k.
While guaranteed money is a good indicator of how much the team wants the undrafted player because they are free to sign with any NFL team, it is not necessarily the best indicator of their eventual success with the team. Allen and Himmelman never played a snap for the Broncos while Rypien and Incoom did. Both of the latter were still in the NFL last season, Rypien on the Rams and Incoom on the Panthers.
Which UDFA do you think has the best chance to make the final 53 this season? Let me know in the comments.
