The Walton-Penner Family Ownership Group retained Paton when it purchased the team in August 2022 and when it hired Sean Payton as head coach in 2023.
As the Broncos advanced to the AFC Championship game last season for the first time since the 2015 campaign, Paton, Payton and Walton-Penner have quickly become a winning combination.
At the 2026 NFL Scouting Combine, Payton pleaded for Paton to receive a new contract.
“It’s about time,” Payton said on Feb. 24. “I say that out of respect for the process, but he and I work well together. So my job wouldn’t be as fun or as exciting if he wasn’t a part of it. It should be something that gets done quickly.”
Paton’s first big move was a complete miss, hiring Nathaniel Hackett as head coach in 2022 after firing Vic Fangio. As a result of tricking Hackett, Paton canceled the acquisition of Russell Wilson from the Seattle Seahawks and subsequently signed Wilson to a five-year, $245 million contract extension.
Hackett was fired in his first season and Wilson was benched in his second by Payton, whom Paton and the Broncos hired when they traded with the New Orleans Saints after Payton took a year off from coaching.
The team managed to overcome a then-NFL record $85 million in dead money over two years (since eclipsed by the Miami Dolphins with the release of Tua Tagovailoa). The Broncos emerged from a massive financial setback with a rising quarterback in Bo Nix.
Paton and the Broncos endured a tough winter in Denver, but have come out the other side as AFC contenders, with the former now being rewarded for his efforts.