When John Elway first took over the Denver Broncos as general manager, there was quite a bit of work to do on the roster and even more work to do on the teams salary cap situation. He ended up taking advantage of the new collective bargaining agreement between the NFL and NFLPA that allowed teams to loan up to specific amounts in both 2011(max of $3M) and 2012(max of $1.5M) that would not have to be paid back until 2017.
Since Elway and the Broncos took full advantage of that, the full bill has come due. The $4.5M payment was deducted today from the total salary cap amount, bringing Denver’s cap number down from $20.6M to $16.1M.
After new CBA, teams were allowed to loan from future salary cap in 2011 & 2012. Broncos just paid back $4.5M & dropped from $20.6 to $16.1.
— Jon Heath (@JonHeathNFL) March 28, 2017
This news may have been a surprise to fans, but the Broncos clearly knew this was coming long before their rumored interest in Tony Romo became a thing. So this wrinkle likely doesn’t hamper the Broncos ability to pursue Romo much as the team can always wrangle cap hits, but it does make one wonder if targeting an aging veteran like Romo is the right decision with other holes on the roster to fill.
With no true left tackle on the team, that remaining cap space could be better served filling a vital need on the offensive line and letting the two young quarterbacks compete for a chance to start in 2017.