Jaylen Waddle
Getty
Denver Broncos wide receiver Jaylen Waddle.
For the Denver Broncos and wide receiver Jaylen Waddle, the 4-year, $84.75 million contract extension he signed before the 2024 season could end up looking like chump change in the near future.
Waddle and the Broncos cut a deal to restructure his contract on Tuesday, which could portend a big-money deal in the near future for Waddle, who the Miami Dolphins recently traded to the Broncos for their 2026 1st round pick and 2026 3rd round pick.
“A simple restructure on Jaylen Waddle’s contract converting $15.42 salary in 2026 to signing bonus,” Broncos reporter Mike Klis wrote on his official X account. “There is $1.215m salary for total 2026 payout of $17.241M, which was what he had from Miami deal.”
The wide receiver market got flipped on its head Monday when Seattle Seahawks wide receiver and reigning NFL Offensive Player of the Year Jaxon Smith-Njigba signed a 4-year, $168.6 million contract extension that made him the highest-paid wide receiver in NFL history.
“The simple restructure on Jaylen Waddle’s contract allows the Broncos to spread the signing bonus out over more years,” DNVR’s Zac Stevens wrote on his official X account.
Broncos Made Big-Time Trade for Jaylen Waddle
In the NFL, fortune favors the bold. And it doesn’t get any bolder than the move the Broncos made to get Waddle from the Dolphins.
It’s a trade that’s been roundly praised and has put the Broncos firmly in the conversation as Super Bowl contenders in 2026 after they went 14-3, earned the AFC’s No. 1 playoff seed, and lost in the AFC Championship Game following the 2025 season.
“Broncos are trading for Miami WR Jaylen Waddle, per source,” ESPN’s Adam Schefter wrote on his official X account on March 17. “Denver receives: Waddle and Dolphins’ 4th-round pick (11th in round) in this year’s draft. Miami receives: Broncos’ 1st round pick (30th overall) along with their late 3rd and 4th round picks (30th in each round) in this year’s draft.”
It’s a seismic move for the Broncos, who addressed their biggest offseason concern by trading for Waddle.
“I absolutely love this for Denver,” ESPN analyst and former NFL quarterback Dan Orlovsky said. ” … they needed a true wide receiver with speed, and there’s Jaylen Waddle. Huge pickup for Denver.”
Denver had been criticized for being the only team not to sign any outside free agents through the 1st week of NFL free agency.
Broncos Almost Traded for Jaylen Waddle in 2025
The Broncos almost made a blockbuster trade for Waddle at the 2025 trade deadline but balked at the price. It’s fair to say that making that move might have ended up being the difference between the Broncos making it to the Super Bowl.
In a 10-7 home loss to the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship Game, the Broncos were in desperate need of a downfield threat.
“TheBroncos and a few other teams reached out to — and monitored — theDolphins about WR Jaylen Waddle, but no deal will get done,” NFL insider Jordan Schultz wrote on his official X account. “Miami’s asking price was simply too high, per sources.”
Waddle, the No. 6 overall pick in the 2021 NFL draft, has been 1 of the NFL’s elite wide receivers since his rookie year. In 5 NFL seasons, Waddle has had over 1,000 receiving yards 3 times, including 75 receptions for a career high 1,356 receiving yards and 9 touchdowns in 2022.
In 2025, Waddle had 64 receptions for 910 yards and 6 touchdowns in 16 games.