Broncos Star Forced Into Career Decision After Sean Payton Ignored Demands

If you’ve been watching Denver’s summer unfold, you’ve seen the Broncos cut big checks, sharpen a nasty pass rush, and talk loudly about their 2025 push. What you haven’t seen is just as telling: no new contract for John Franklin-Myers. The veteran lineman has been reliable, outspoken, and consistently disruptive. Exactly what you’d want in a long-term piece, yet the extension never showed up. So what now? Instead of a war of words, Franklin-Myers made a choice.

Franklin-Myers’ message after Denver’s preseason finale was straightforward: the team and the tape come first. Asked about the missing extension, he said, “We all just want to feel wanted, and I think when it’s time to play football, obviously money and stuff aside, I’m under contract. So football is football. Obviously, we all want what we’re worth, but until then, shoot, I’m going to play football. It is what it is.” And that might be the best way to look at it.

It’s a calculated move. Denver paced the entire NFL with a franchise-record 63 sacks in 2024, a loud reminder that this team’s identity lives in the front seven. A perfect backdrop for a contract-year push. During that surge, Franklin-Myers quietly put up a career-best 7.0 sacks and 40 total tackles last year. Those stats carry weight. Whether it’s in Denver or on the open market.

And the Denver fit couldn’t be clearer. This is the same player the Broncos traded for during the 2024 draft weekend. Well, and then he saw the restructuring because Sean Payton and George Paton were intent on cranking up the pass-rush heat. Pair the numbers with the talent around him, and the move looks even sharper. Zach Allen logged 8.5 sacks in 2024, pulling protection his way and giving teammates cleaner one-on-ones.

As offenses tilt toward Allen, Franklin-Myers’ knack for winning across the line only grows more valuable heading into 2025. And that matters. Malcom Roach and Myers are the only two players on the roster heading into the 2025 season without contractual security beyond this year.

And we’re going to reiterate what Roach said. If everybody plays well, then everybody’s going to get paid. In Denver or elsewhere. Special emphasis on playing well. And Myers knows it. With the tools around him, he has the potential to have the best season of his career. And he knows what would happen after. But let’s talk about it. What went wrong in the contract negotiations this year?

Sean Payton didn’t give in to his demands

If you’re wondering how this dragged into late August, just trace the money trail. Courtland Sutton is locked in a four-year, $92 million extension, and Zach Allen inked a four-year, $102 million deal this summer. Those headline contracts made it clear where Denver chose to park its cap space first.

Meanwhile, reports out of Denver pointed to little or no real negotiation with Franklin-Myers this summer. A storyline that lines up with his “we all want to feel wanted” remark and his choice to park the frustration until the regular season.

Throughout the season, Myers has made his demands known. Let’s add some background to that. The 28-year-old came over from the Jets last year in a trade for a 2026 sixth-rounder, then signed a two-year, $15 million deal with Denver. Now, down to the final year of that contract, he has been making his inclination towards an extension known.

It kicked off when ESPN’s Adam Schefter dropped a list of pass rushers in line for new deals. Broncos reporter Zac Stevens brought up Nik Bonitto, and Franklin-Myers jumped straight into the thread with a quick “Or JFM.” The man isn’t too subtle, is he? But that led to nothing. We’re almost in week 1, and no extension.

But it all comes down to the kind of season he puts up this year. If he pulls off an all-timer season, the Broncos should have no problem giving him what he wants. And if they’re still hesitant, Myers would be a free agent next year. There’s always a team out there that’ll give you everything you need if you prove you’re worth it. And that’s exactly what Myers is planning to do this year.