DENVER, CO — The Denver Broncos have agreed to a five-year contract extension with head coach Sean Payton, the team announced Thursday.
First reported by ESPN's Adam Schefter, the new deal runs through the 2030 season and aligns Payton’s contract with that of general manager George Paton, who signed a five-year extension in May.
Payton has led a turnaround for the Broncos over the past three seasons, helping establish a more competitive team and a renewed culture within the organization.
"Sean Payton has led an impressive turnaround over the past three seasons, instilling a winning culture with high expectations," team owner Greg Penner said in a statement. "I appreciate the close partnership he shares with George Paton along with the alignment and stability across our football operations.
"We're thrilled for Sean to continue leading our team as head coach, building on our progress during such an exciting time for the Broncos."
Payton has overseen a dramatic turnaround since being hired in 2023, when Denver traded a 2023 first-round pick and a 2024 second-round selection to the New Orleans Saints to acquire the Super Bowl XLIV-winning coach.
Denver Broncos Head Coach Sean Payton
At the time, the Broncos had not reached the playoffs since winning Super Bowl 50 during the 2015 season and were coming off a failed experiment with quarterback Russell Wilson. Payton led Denver to an 8-9 record in his first season — the team’s highest win total since 2016 — before the franchise absorbed a then-record $85 million in dead cap to move on from Wilson.
Denver then paired Payton, long regarded for his work with quarterbacks, with rookie signal-caller Bo Nix, selected in the first round of the 2024 draft. The Broncos went 10-7 in Nix’s rookie season, earning a playoff berth and advancing to the Wild Card Round.
The team took another leap in 2025, finishing 14-3 to secure the AFC’s No. 1 seed — the second-best regular-season record in franchise history. Denver’s postseason run ended in the AFC Championship Game after Nix suffered a broken ankle in a divisional-round win over Buffalo, leaving the Broncos just short of a Super Bowl appearance.
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