Chris Harris Jr. will only count 3 million against the salary cap in 2015

(Courtesy of Over The Cap.com)

As we can see, Harris Jr. has a base salary of 900K to go along with 2 million in prorated signing bonus and 100k in workout bonuses. That puts his overall cap number at 3 million in 2015. Why is that important? The Broncos have a slew of free agents that will hit the market. With more flexibility added to their coffers, the Broncos will be able to keep their young core of players intact.

Examining the rest of the contract, I see 10 million fully guaranteed and relatively low dead money numbers in both 2018 and 2019 that could render this a three-year deal if the Broncos decided to go another direction. Overall, the numbers remain well under market value and could prove to be a bargain if Harris continues his All-Pro level of play.

How much money does this free up in 2015?

If you went strictly by the reported annual value of the contract when it was first revealed (approximately 8.5 million) this will give the Broncos an additional 5.5 million to work with next season.

With 2 million of Chris Harris Jr.'s contract being prorated in 2014, the Broncos will have approximately 7.67 million to rollover into next season.

In 2015, the Broncos will have approximately 111.89 million already allocated to it's roster (this already includes the Chris Harris Jr. figure). With the cap expected to rise to a figure of about 140 million in 2015, the Broncos are looking at having an overall cap ceiling of about 147.67 million. That would put the Broncos remaining cap space at approximately 35.5 million--ballpark figure.

Even if the Broncos decide to franchise tag Demaryius Thomas, they will still have a lot of flexibility to go out and sign the talent they need.

Give kudos to our cap guru for structuring these deals in a way that keeps the Broncos out of salary cap hell, thank John Elway for getting a good deal done, and praise Chris Harris Jr. for his loyalty and selflessness.

GO BRONCOS!!!