They share surnames, but not necessarily bargaining positions.
Julius Thomas wouldn’t be blamed if he sprinted to the negotiating table.
The Broncos tight end received a modest $384,000 signing bonus as a fourth-round draft pick in 2011. In his four-season career, Thomas never has made more than the $645,000 salary he is due to make this year.
After making just one catch for 5 yards through his first two seasons, Thomas exploded for 65 catches, 12 touchdowns and a Pro Bowl berth in his third season of 2013.
Even if the Broncos offer a contract extension worth less on an annual average than the franchise tag salary of $7.3 million, it figures to be a long way up from $645,000.
Demaryius Thomas, meanwhile, might have to be pushed into negotiations. The Broncos’ No. 1 wide receiver received a $6.375 million signing bonus as a first-round draft pick in 2010 and will draw a $3.275 million salary this year.
That type of loot will buy a guy patience. Whether the Broncos offer him a multi-year contract extension closer to the $12.85 million average of Seattle’s Percy Harvin, the NFL’s third-highest-paid receiver, or the $16.15 million average deal of the second-most compensated receiver, Arizona’s Larry Fitzgerald, Demaryius Thomas can afford to go all in.
Put up another 93-catch, 1,432-yard, 12-touchdown season — his average from the previous two years — and Demaryius Thomas might be able to use the leverage of free agency after this season to set compensation records.
Then again, both Demaryius and Julius Thomas understand the health risks associated with the sport they play. They understand them because both were plagued by injuries through their first two seasons.
With players reporting Wednesday for physicals, a team meeting and the start of training camp, the Broncos had hoped to work out contract extensions with two of Peyton Manning’s favorite targets.
A deal is not imminent with either player.
Contract dilemmas have almost become a rite of Broncos training camp over the years. There are no rookie holdouts anymore as the new collective bargaining agreement has slotted a contract to every draft slot.
The camp-opening drama didn’t disappear, though. It simply slid to the veterans. In 2011, camp opened with quarterback Kyle Orton on the brink of getting traded to the Miami Dolphins, a deal that would clear room for Tim Tebow. The trade fell through, and Tebow had to wait until Game 6 to replace Orton and rescue the Broncos’ season.
In 2012, contract extension talks with all-pro left offensive tackle Ryan Clady bogged down and he played the year on a $3.5 million salary. His gamble was rewarded. Before training camp in 2013, Clady and the Broncos agreed on a five-year, $52.5 million contract.
Clady suffered a season-ending foot injury in Game 2 last year. Timing is everything when it comes to contract-extension negotiations.
The time is now for Demaryius Thomas and Julius Thomas. Unless that time is next year.
