Full contract details released for former Oklahoma star Nik Bonitto's deal with Denver Broncos

The Broncos made the dreams of former Oklahoma star Nik Bonitto come true during the 2022 NFL Draft, drafting the linebacker No. 64 overall. Now, the full contract details have been released for the shiny, new toy joining the AFC West, as Aaron Wilson of Pro Football Network revealed them on Friday.

“Denver Broncos’ deal for second-round pick Nik Bonnito: $5.801 million, $1.399 million signing bonus, salaries $705,000, $968,722, $1.232 million, $1.496 million,” tweeted Wilson.

With the draft in the rearview and pen put to paper on his rookie contract, all that’s left for Bonitto is to prove why Denver was so high on him. Joining a defense full of impressive talents — like Bradley Chubb, Randy Gregory and Pat Surtain II — the former Sooners star will have a litany of opportunities.

The Broncos believed in Nik Bonitto. Now, the newly-minted rookie can repay their confidence with a solid start to his NFL career. There’s no reason to expect anything less if his collegiate career is any indication.

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The Broncos had Oklahoma linebacker Nik Bonitto penciled in on its list of potential draftees. He spent the past four years with the Sooners, working his way up to eventually become one of the team leaders on defense.

That plus months of pre-draft evaluation led Denver to ultimately pull the trigger, selecting him No. 64 overall in the 2022 NFL Draft on Friday.

Pro Football Focus named Bonitto the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year this past season after he finished with 39 tackles (15 for loss), seven sacks and three fumble recoveries. He was also named second team All-Big 12 by the league’s coaches. The Sooners claimed conference championships in each of Bonitto’s first three seasons, but failed to make the game this past year.

Bonitto was a four-star recruit coming out of high school in 2018, and ranked as the No. 24 linebacker in the class according to On3 Consensus, a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average. He redshirted his first season in Norman, playing in only three games. The next season, he started as a backup linebacker before earning a starting role for the final eight games of the year. He broke out as a redshirt sophomore, finishing with 33 tackles (11.5 for loss), nine sacks and 10 quarterback hurries to earn first-team All-American honors from the AP.

At the NFL Combine in March, Bonitto performed in the defensive end drills rather than at linebacker. He posted a 40-yard dash time of 4.54, which ranked fifth among the defensive ends who participated. He also posted a time of 7.07 seconds in the three-cone drill, which ranked third.