DENVER — The Broncos have locked up another key member of one of the best-performing offensive lines in football.

On Tuesday night, Denver agreed to a four-year extension with center Luke Wattenberg, sources confirmed to The Denver Post. It’s a four-year, $48 million extension for Wattenberg, a source confirmed, with $27 million guaranteed.

The deal ties Wattenberg with the New Orleans Saints’ Erik McCoy as the fifth-highest-paid center in the NFL, with an average value of $12 million yearly.

The move comes just a day after head coach Sean Payton told reporters that he and general manager George Paton had spent time before last week’s bye discussing extensions and initiating conversations with a handful of players.

“The key is not affecting the mojo or how your team’s doing,” Payton said. “I’m always sensitive to that, especially when you’re playing well, because sometimes those can be difficult discussions.”

The Broncos moved quickly with Wattenberg, whose rookie deal was set to expire after the 2025 season. The crop of available 2026 free-agent centers was fairly slim, and Wattenberg would’ve likely commanded a hefty sum on the open market. Still, Wattenberg’s extension — if signed as a free agent in the offseason — would’ve made him the third-highest-paid center in 2025 free agency, behind the Bears’ Drew Dalman and the Jaguars’ Patrick Mekari.

The 28-year-old Wattenberg has become an integral part of a Broncos offensive front that currently ranks fourth in the NFL in pass-block win rate and ninth in run-block win rate, according to ESPN. Wattenberg won the starting job prior to the 2024 season in his third year in the league, authoring a strong year in pass protection in front of rookie quarterback Bo Nix.

“I think you’re going to see an ascension,” Payton said of Wattenberg during minicamp. “He’s exceptionally smart. I like his frame. He loves football. So I think that first year full-time starting is going to benefit him greatly.”

Wattenberg has started all 11 games in 2025, surrendering 10 pressures and committing eight penalties. The latter figure is second in the NFL among all centers, according to Pro Football Focus.

The deal continues a trend of Broncos leadership locking down its starting offensive line, as Denver has committed major money in front of Nix. Denver inked All-Pro guard Quinn Meinerz to a four-year, $80 million deal in 2024’s offseason, and followed with an $82 million extension for stalwart left tackle Garett Bolles in December.

The Broncos now have all five of their starters this year under contract for at least the 2026 season and all of them are ranked No. 11 or higher at their position in average annual value. In fact, Wattenberg at $12 million per season would still enter the 2026 season as the low man on the pay totem pole if Denver has the same quintet in place.

Further moves up front are certainly possible — left guard Ben Powers, for example, does not have any guaranteed money left on his contract after this season and is currently on injured reserve with a torn bicep — but Denver has built an enviable collection of talent and a stable foundation up front in recent years.

In the months after the Broncos drafted Wattenberg in the fifth round of the 2022 draft, however, it was anything but certain he’d play his way into that conversation. Wattenberg played five years at the University of Washington but when he got thrown into action at guard during his rookie year he was underpowered and overmatched against quality interior defensive linemen like Tennessee’s Jeffery Simmons.

Wattenberg, however, worked through his weaknesses, built strength and gained Payton’s confidence when he was hired as head coach. His development behind the scenes, Payton has said, is part of why the Broncos ultimately let Lloyd Cushenberry leave via free agency after the 2023 season. Denver wanted to keep Cushenberry lost him when Tennessee gave him a $50 million contract over four years.

Wattenberg’s taken the opportunity and run with it. He won the starting job over Alex Forsyth in the summer of 2024, turned himself into one of the best pass-protecting centers in football, built a bond with Nix and now is a central part of Denver’s offensive core for years to come.

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