The Denver Broncos finally signed wide receiver Demaryius Thomas to a five-year, $70 million deal, which has a $35 million guarantee plus a $17.5 million signing bonus according to NFL's Ian Rapoport.
Thomas signed his new deal with the Broncos following the Dallas Cowboys' signing of wide receiver Dez Bryant.
Both Thomas and Bryant missed their teams' offseason workouts in search for long-term deals.
"We are thrilled to reach a long-term contract agreement with Demaryius Thomas. He has developed into one of the top wide receivers in the NFL, and making sure he remained a Denver Bronco was a significant priority for our team," Broncos general manager John Elway said in a statement.
Elway added, "Demaryius is a special talent and an elite player who has also become a team leader during his five NFL seasons. We are very much looking forward to him playing a major role in the success of the Broncos well into the future."
Like Bryant, Thomas was also given a franchise tag by the Broncos that if he signed will earn him $12.8 million for next season.
ESPN reported Tuesday that Thomas and the Broncos have not exchanged contract proposals yet with the deadline fast approaching.
Good thing Denver has inked the 27-year-old athlete because NFL rules do not allow a long-term contract to be signed until after the 2015 season if no deal is reached before the deadline.
Thomas has been a very efficient contributor for the Broncos especially with veteran Peyton Manning as the quarterback.
Last season the three-time Pro Bowler had 111 receptions for 1,619 yards and 11 touchdowns in 16 regular season games played.
For the past three years, Thomas has had at least 92 receptions, 1,430 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns per season.
Elway believes that their franchise star now gets paid the right amount following three very productive seasons and said that Thomas deserves the deal.
"We have a tremendous amount of confidence in DT, and it's why we felt comfortable paying him this kind of money," he added.
