Broncos: Three Year Extension with Wide Receiver Emmanuel Sanders
With one year left on his deal, wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders agree to a three-year extension with the Denver Broncos. Will he future be as bright as his past has been?
The Denver Broncos don’t carry negotiations over into the regular season. With them set to kickoff the season on September 8th, time was running out for an extension with receiver Emmanuel Sanders. On Wednesday September 7th, the Broncos and Sanders agreed on a three-year extension.
Being only 29 years old, Sanders extension will keep him in Denver until just before he turns 33 years old after the 2019 season. By that point, Sanders will likely be on the decline, making this his big contract of his career.
The details of the extension follow, thanks to ESPN insider Adam Schefter.
Denver gave WR Emmanuel Sanders a 3-year, $33M extension that includes $27M guaranteed and ties him to Broncos through 2019, per source.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) September 7, 2016
This is a steal for the Broncos to keep Sanders for $11M APY (average per year). What he lost in APY money, he made up for it with his guaranteed money. His $27 million is the fourth highest among current wide receivers. Teammate Demaryius Thomas got the second highest (only by $500K) with $35 million guaranteed, $8 million more than Sanders.
When the Los Angeles Rams agreed to a 4 year $42 million with 17 million guaranteed extension with Tavon Austin, everyone thought Sanders deal would blow that out of the water. It didn’t. There are a few reasons why, outside of guaranteed money, that isn’t the case.
Well, Sanders’ new deal should have been for a lot more than it was. The value he brings to his team is worth more than just $10 million more than Austin. Thankfully, Sanders was wanting to stay a Bronco and took less to stay. There is no question he could have gotten more APY after playing out the season.
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When negotiating an extension, teams often look at previous production for the team and try to predict future production for the team. Age, and medical history are also included. In the case of Sanders, all of those point to this being a great deal for both sides.
Before Sanders joined the Broncos, he had a career high of 740 receiving yards with the Pittsburgh Steelers. He nearly doubled that his first year with the Broncos, and broke 1,000 receiving yards both years. He also has had four more touchdowns his last two years, than in his first four years combined. Obviously, Denver got him at the perfect time.
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His career took off in Denver, and Sanders owes much of that to the Sheriff, Peyton Manning. Manning found ways to get Sanders the ball and being the playmaker he is, Sanders didn’t disappoint racking up over 750 yards after the catch the last two years.
Where Sanders really boosted the offense was making the tough catches. The catches that a receiver needs to make to boost the offense. In doing so, Sanders took some big hits but never missed a game for the Broncos.
Sanders is at the right age, doesn’t have the injury history, and has the production to back up this contract extension. For one side, they got Sanders on a cheaper deal than he would’ve gotten on the open market. For Sanders, he got to stay as part of the Broncos for three more years. That is something he has openly said he wanted.
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The only question that remains is, can Sanders keep up his performance to keep his value matching with this extension. No one knows the answer to that at this time. Only time will tell, but there is no reason to think that Sanders can’t perform just as well, or even better.