The Broncos keep stacking wins with Bo Nix under center, but the money question around him is still wide open.
That debate has only gotten louder as Nix nears the end of his rookie deal. Sean Keeler of the Denver Post dug into the issue with help from a few former NFL quarterbacks, and the answers did not line up neatly.
Some see a quarterback still being evaluated. Others see a player who has already earned his place in the market.
Ryan Fitzpatrick was among the harsher voices after Nix’s performance against the Seattle Seahawks, calling it “garbage.” But the conversation around Nix is shifting a bit as he starts to steady himself, even if the bigger questions around his future remain.
Hugh Millen offered the cleanest summary of the wait-and-see approach. He said “the end crowns the work,” a line that gets at the idea that Nix still needs more time before anyone stamps him as a bust or a success.
The comparison that keeps surfacing is Baker Mayfield. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback landed a three-year, $165 million deal, a number that has helped reshape the market and stirred plenty of debate, especially when stacked against Nix. Keeler laid out eight different categories and metrics, and Nix came out on top in five of them.
That was enough for former Broncos quarterback Jake Plummer to say “yeah, I believe it does” when asked whether Nix belongs in the same range as Mayfield. Plummer also pointed to what Nix has meant to the organization as Denver has moved back into perennial contender territory. He leaned on the old line that if you win games, you deserve to get paid, and even took it a step further by saying Nix is “probably getting underpaid” no matter what happens next.
Not everyone buys the idea that Nix is doing it all on his own. The pushback is that he benefits from his coach and the talent around him.
But Hall of Fame quarterback Warren Moon sees it differently. Moon cited Nix’s fourth-quarter performances as part of the case for his value, while also noting the reality that a big payday for Nix could mean the Broncos have to move on from other productive players.
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