ENGLEWOOD, Colo — If Quinn Meinerz is not the richest former lumberjack from the woods of Wisconsin and Canada, he's close.
The Broncos have just secured arguably their best offensive player by giving right guard Meinerz a new four-year contract that will pay him up to $80 million, a source told 9NEWS.
A third-round draft pick out of Division III Wisconsin-Whitewater in 2021, Meinerz first became known within the football world through his unorthodox pre-draft workouts in Canada, where videos of him blocking over trees, cutting logs and hoisting planks went viral. He became a Broncos' starter about halfway through his rookie season, then consistently made road-grader-type pancake blocks his next two seasons.
The 6-foot-3, 320-pound Meinerz, who has removed himself from his "Belly" nickname from his college and pre-draft workout hype, will get $24 million cash bonuses and salary in 2024 and has $45 million total in guarantees. The base value of the contract is $72 million, according to a source, with the $18 million annual average making Meinerz the NFL's fourth-highest-paid right guard.
Only Atlanta's Chris Lindstrom ($20.5 million), Carolina's Robert Hunt ($20 million) and the Cowboys' Zach Martin ($18.425 million) are higher-paid among right guards. Meinerz could have waited until after the 2024 season to use the leverage of free agency to see if he could re-set the right guard market. But a desire to stay with the Broncos and the security of playing the upcoming season without injury risk won out.
While Meinerz, 25, has never been selected as All Pro or even to a Pro Bowl, football insiders know his mix of power and athleticism makes him one of the league's most impressive interior blockers.
Among Broncos offensive players over the past two years, Meinerz has consistently generated the highest scouting scores by Pro Football Focus and other services.
Broncos general manager George Paton, contract guru Rich Hurtado and Meinerz' agent Ron Slavin started working on a new contract about a month ago, according to a source. Meinerz was considered a priority because he was entering the final year of his rookie contract in 2024.
Broncos have invested heavily four of their five offensive line positions:
- Quinn Meinerz, RG, $18 million
- Mike McGlinchey, RT, $17.5 million
- Garett Bolles, LT, $17 million
- Ben Powers, LG, $13 million
The Broncos were unable to bring back four-year starting center Lloyd Cushenberry III, who instead received a four-year contract worth $12.5 million per season with Tennessee. He will be replaced by the more affordable Luke Wattenberg ($985,000 in 2024), Alex Forsyth ($915,000) or Sam Mustipher ($1.125 million).
