ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) — Outside linebacker Nik Bonitto posted a video of himself driving to work while jamming to Rod Wave’s “Richer,” featuring Polo G., and singing along to the apropos lyrics: “I’m richer than I’ve ever been. I’m richer than I’ve ever been.”

Bonitto became the third player to receive a big extension with the Denver Broncos this summer, signing a four-year deal that’s worth up to $120 million with $70 million guaranteed.

Becoming the highest-paid defender in franchise history, topping the $114 million, six-year deal Von Miller signed in 2016, opened a flood of emotions for Bonitto, a 2022 second-round pick out of Oklahoma.

“A lot of tears,” Bonitto said when asked what it was like to learn his agent Tory Dandy and Broncos general manager George Paton had hammered out a deal. “I think I probably ran out of tears to last a year.”

At $26.5 million per year, Bonitto’s extension ranks 10th among edge rushers in average annual value.

“Obviously, it’s nice to have some money, but that’s not the end goal for me,” Bonitto said. “I had goals way bigger than that coming into the league and I’ve just got to keep working to try to achieve those things.”

In his first season as a full-time starter last year, Bonitto had 13 1/2 sacks and 48 tackles in helping the Broncos end an eight-year playoff drought.

Bonitto thought back Thursday to defensive coordinator Vance Joseph’s arrival in 2023 when Bonitto was coming off a rookie season where he managed just 1 1/2 sacks.

Joseph called him into his office, he said. “He’s just like, ‘Nik, you can be a double-digit sack guy in this league.’ I’m like, ‘Are you sure you brought the right guy in here?’ I had a one-sack season. But he had ultimate confidence in me. And it’s paid off. I just had to wait my turn and just keep working and I finally got to see his vision.”

Combined with the extensions signed by defensive lineman Zach Allen ( four years, $102 million ) and No. 1 wide receiver Courtland Sutton ( four years, $92 million ), the Broncos have committed $314 million overall with $181 million in guarantees, to their trio of top-priority veterans ahead of the 2025 season that kicks off Sunday at home against Tennessee.

Unlike some other high-profile negotiations that turned contentious across the league this summer, none of the Broncos stars held out or held in during talks.

“I didn’t want to be that guy where my teammates are looking at me in a selfish way to where I’m putting myself over the team,” Bonitto said.

Cornerback Patrick Surtain II, who signed his own mega extension a year ago, said the lack of contract drama in Denver is a testament both to the character of the locker room and to the Penner ownership group.

“You pay your best players at the end of the day and it’s a mutual respect thing,” Surtain said. “We respect the standard and the program here and they respect us. Not just contract-wise but the new facilities they’re building and how much they allocate to everything to do. They pour so much into us. I think it goes hand in hand with the amount of respect we have for each other.”

NOTE: ILB Dre Greenlaw (quad) missed practice for a second straight day and worked on the side field.

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