UPDATE – March 22: Mike Klis has provided more accurate contract information. This post has been changed to reflect this.
strikethrough: outdated information
Heuerman has $2 million fully guaranteed among his $4 million payout this season. In 2020 he has a $3 million base salary with $1 million in 46-man per-game bonuses and another $1 million in incentives.
Here is Heuerman’s contract table:
| Year | Base Salary | Prorated Bonus | Per Game Roster Bonus | Cap Number | Dead Money | Cap Savings |
| 2019 | $2,000,000 | $500,000 | $1,000,000 | $3,500,000 | $2,000,000 | $2,000,000 |
| 2020 | $3,000,000 | $500,000 | $1,000,000 | $4,500,000 | $500,000 | $3,500,000 |
There are three ways that this contract can turn out for the Broncos:
- A 0 year, $2 million deal with $1.5 million in dead money against the 2019 cap, and $500,000 against 2020. This would be the instance in which Heuerman fails to make the 2019 Broncos roster. This would be bad, but the amount of dead money would not be so daunting as to make it impossible.
- A 1 year, $3-4 million deal (depending on how many games Heuerman is active for in 2019) should the Broncos decide that the same amount is not proper compensation for Heuerman in 2020. Klis did not mention whether the Broncos attached an option year to 2020, something that I would expect.
- A 2 year, $7-9 million deal depending on how many games Heuerman is active for in 2020, and whether he meets whatever the incentives are.
I felt that a fair deal for Heuerman would have been comparable to Virgil Green’s extension with the Broncos back in 2015. Adjusting that deal for inflation to 2019’s salary cap, Green got a shade over $3 million APY in 2019 dollars. So Heuerman bested Green by $1 million in APY, but if he can’t stay healthy that difference could fall to as much as even.