After the Denver Broncos won Super Bowl 50, the team gave defensive end Derek Wolfe a four-year, $36.7 million contract. That was a huge bargain compared to the six-year, $85.5 million contract that Malik Jackson received from the Jacksonville Jaguars during the same offseason.
Wolfe explained during a press conference on April 9 that he gave the team a hometown discount because he wanted to finish his career in Denver.
“I want to be a Bronco for life,” Wolfe said. “That’s why I signed that deal that I did last time. The Broncos have been good to me, so if I play well they’ll be good to me again and I can finish my career here. I don’t really want to live anywhere else.”
Wolfe, 29, is entering his eighth year in the NFL and he wants to play at least three more seasons.
“After I got that neck surgery last year, I feel like it added five years to my career,” Wolfe said. “I felt five years younger. Just getting used to not feeling like I was going to die every day. It was scary, like, ‘I don’t know if I’m going to be able to walk when I’m 35 or 40 years old.’
“Now, it’s like I feel young again. My strength is coming back, I’m like two months ahead of where I was this time last year. I think if I said any more than 10 [years] my wife would be mad at me, but I think I could play for 12 or 13 years and still be OK.”
Wolfe has totaled 265 tackles and 26 sacks in his career. He is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent in 2020.
