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George Paton's entering final year of contract (here's what Sean Payton said about GM)
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- George Paton's entering final year of contract (here's what Sean Payton said about GM)
When the Denver Broncos hired George Paton as their new general manager in 2021, they gave him a six-year contract . Paton is now set to enter the sixth and final year of that deal in 2026.
It remains to be seen if the Broncos will give Paton a contract extension. He has been linked to the GM opening with the Minnesota Vikings , so if Denver wants to keep him, that could give Paton some leverage in negotiations.
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Broncos coach Sean Payton has had nothing but positive things to say about Paton publicly.
"Our relationship has been great," Payton said in January. "We have a lot in common. I was lucky for all those years to have a relationship like that with [ New Orleans Saints GM] Mickey Loomis, and I consider the relationship that I have with George. I'd heard so many good things about him prior to meeting him and then when I met him that day we interviewed, I found him to be just like what everyone had described. I can't speak for him, but I really enjoy working with him.
"We both are passionate about the same things. ... I enjoy — and you have to because you spend so much time together — but it's probably one of the more undervalued aspects. Find me the head coach and GM tied at the hip, and then you have a chance. I feel like he and I have an extremely close relationship, trust, but also we see things in a similar fashion. Again, he mentioned this, I said it. There were so many people that we knew that knew both of us that had said, 'This will be perfect,' but we just hadn't met."
Payton followed that up with another glowing review one week later: "I can't say enough about just working with him," Payton said of Paton. "I don't know that always exists in our league. So when you get that triangle, and you get the ownership triangle, then obviously you have to find a quarterback. I enjoy daily working with him."
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So it seems clear that Payton would like Paton to remain as the team's GM. During his end-of-season press conference last week, team owner/CEO Greg Penner said he would "love" to keep Paton and Payton with the team long term (Payton's contract runs through the 2027 season).
"I'd say that the two of them, we'd love to have both of them here long term," Penner said. "I think the partnership they've created and how they work together, it's very complementary. In terms of their contracts, those are things that we'll always deal with on a personal basis in private and take that as it comes."
So, there's no word yet on a potential contract extension, but it certainly sounds like the Broncos plan to give Paton one.
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This article originally appeared on Broncos Wire: Denver Broncos: George Paton entering final year of his contract
