When the Denver Broncos drafted Alabama All-American Patrick Surtain II with the ninth choice in 2021, the team hoped the SEC’s 2020 Defensive Player of the Year would become one of the top cornerbacks in the NFL.

Surtain has done that as illustrated by his Pro Bowl selections in each of the past two seasons and his first-team All-Pro recognition in 2022.

But that success comes with a price for the Broncos.

With the NFL’s announcement of a $255.4 million salary cap for the 2024 season came the price tags of the fifth-year options for the first-round selections in the 2021 NFL Draft.

Each first-round draft pick signs a four-year contract that carries a team option for a fifth season. But that option must be exercised before the player’s fourth season. For the 2021 first-rounders, the deadline to do so arrives on May 2.

If Denver picks up its option on Surtain’s contract for the 2025 season, the Broncos will guarantee the cornerback a pay day of $19.802 million for the 2025 season. That’s nearly as much money as the entirety of Surtain’s four-year contract, which had a $20.963 million value.

If Surtain had been a run-of-the-mill cornerback in his first four seasons, the price tag on the fifth-year option would have been $13.377 million — $6.425 million less than Denver is facing.

Fifth-year options come in four designations, with Surtain in the most expensive class – players who have been selected for two Pro Bowls on the original ballot for the all-star event in their first three seasons.

The other levels are for one-time Pro Bowlers, players who have not been Pro Bowlers but have played at least 75 percent of the offensive or defensive snaps in two seasons or 50 percent of the overall snaps in three seasons and players who have not reached the Pro Bowl or the playing-time standards.

NFL teams selected six players from Alabama high schools and colleges in the 2021 NFL Draft. Surtain was the only one who qualified for the highest pay day. Four others met the playing-time minimums without the Pro Bowl accolade, and one is in the lowest pay slot.

The fifth-year option values for the other players with Alabama football roots from the first-round of the 2021 draft include:

· Pittsburgh Steelers running back Najee Harris (Alabama): $6.79 million

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· New England Patriots quarterback Mac Jones (Alabama): $25.664 million

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· Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver DeVonta Smith (Alabama): $15.591 million

· Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Kadarius Toney (Blount): $14.345 million

· Miami Dolphins wide receiver Jaylen Waddle (Alabama): $15.591 million

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Toney is the player who did not meet the playing-time standards after originally being drafted by the New York Giants at No. 20 in 2021. The value of his fifth-year option is the average of the third- through 25th-highest salaries for wide receivers over the past five seasons.

For the other four players, the value of the fifth-year option is the average of the third- through 20th-highest salaries at their position over the past five seasons.

For Surtain, the value of his fifth-year option is equal to that of the non-exclusive franchise-tag tender, which is calculated using the five highest salaries at a position.

Teams have another option to keep 2021 first-round draft picks out of free agency after the 2024 season other than guaranteeing their 2025 salaries at the fifth-year option rate now. Because the players have completed three NFL seasons, teams can renegotiate their contracts, allowing them to be signed to long-term extensions beyond the 2025 season.

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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.