On the snap, he crackles and pops offensive linemen.

Wednesday, a single play explained his brilliance. Quarterback Bo Nix caught the ball in the shotgun and center Luke Wattenberg and left guard Ben Powers slid the protection over to Allen. With four hands and 610 pounds locked on his chest, Allen did not flinch, holding the point of attack and freeing edge rusher Nik Bonitto to get around Garett Bolles.

A few players later, Allen provided pressure up the middle, making a running back’s life miserable.

The Broncos are having the type of training camp that has players talking about the Super Bowl without smirking. They have a giddy coach, an ascending quarterback, a happy receiver, and a nasty defense.

But it is going to feel hollow if they don’t hammer out a contract extension for Allen.

“I would pay him,” said ex-standout Broncos defensive end Derek Wolfe, who knows a little something about Allen’s position. “He changes games and is always available.”

Can the Broncos Venmo $50 million?

Allen is in the final season of a three-year, $45 million deal. At $12.74 million this season, he has a Walmart rollback price tag dangling from his jersey. You should reserve Kleenex for more worthy causes. But in the business of the NFL, Allen is grossly underpaid.

“If we were playing the Broncos today and game-planning against the defensive line, the first thing we would say is, ‘How do we deal with No. 99?’ ” said former Broncos Pro Bowl guard Mark Schlereth. “I am not saying Nik Bonitto isn’t great. But the first guy has to be Allen because he is a handful and has the closest path to the quarterback.”

The Broncos delivered their best practice in three years Wednesday, according to tight end Adam Trautman. It was the perfect blend of competitive spirit and trash talk — Is Malcolm Roach fat or phat? — without it spilling over into fights.

And Allen was in the middle of it. And on the left side. And the right. His versatility and intensity have helped create an environment where players not only support one another but challenge each other.

The Broncos have taken a series of right steps under the Walton-Penner ownership group. When they bought the team in the summer of 2022, there was no rush to pay anyone, save for Russell Wilson. Three years later, the roster is so stacked, thanks to coach Sean Payton and general manager George Paton, they have to prioritize them.

Courtland Sutton’s deal got done first for two reasons: 1) He was amenable to taking a little less to leave more for teammates, and 2) He was never going to approach the top of the scale at his position. Bonitto’s deal will get done last, likely during the season, because he is wisely waiting until Cincinnati’s Trey Hendrickson and Micah Parsons agree to new contracts.

Allen’s value is set. There is no new comp that will clear things up. His production indicates he deserves between $22 million and $25 million per season over four years. He has been that good. And he’s only 27.

He is exactly the type of player who should be rewarded. He doesn’t check every box. He is the box. Or the dresser at 6-foot-5, 285 pounds. Payton compared his motor to Saints star Cam Jordan.

Allen makes Vance Joseph’s defense work because he is smart — “He’s probably watching film right now,” nose tackle D.J. Jones said — and unselfish. He recognizes what opponents are trying to do, and if they dedicate too many resources in his direction, he gladly occupies blockers to let Broncos marauders Bonitto, Jonathon Cooper and John Franklin-Myers torch tackles.

But Allen is more often Johnny Carson than Ed McMahon.

Just Google his highlights.

Allen is too much for any one man to handle. He burst past Seattle’s Laken Tomlinson for a safety in the opener. He ran around Kansas City right guard Trey Smith for a sack, leaving him chasing like a puppy. He muscled through Raiders rookie Jackson Powers-Johnson as the kid dropped his head in shame. And he put Bills guard David Edwards on skates in the playoffs for some Allen on Josh Allen crime.

“I love the way that dude plays,” Wolfe said.

His 2024 contributions are quantifiable: 8.5 sacks, 40 quarterback hits and 67 pressures, the latter the most by an interior lineman, per Next Gen Stats.

Get this man a new contract, stat.

“Zach is able to get to the edge quick with hand swats. He knows when you are striking your hands, and he’s good at being able to knock them down, so you have to strike through him. He has the power to complement his speed,” said Powers, the left guard who spends chunks of practices lined up opposite the second-team All-Pro. “It makes him a really good pass rusher. And he brings it every play.”

The Broncos are cool again. It is clear the organization is in good hands with Payton. He has created a culture of accountability and an impressive roster.

But when a team is reaching for the clouds, it needs a few stars to light the path. The Broncos should not take their foot off the pedal now. Everything is headed in the right direction. The next mile marker in training camp is easy to see: a Zach Allen extension.

“He played next to J.J. Watt for a couple of years in Arizona. And the most sincere form of flattery is imitation. He has so many J.J. Watt traits, it’s crazy. He’s not J.J. Watt,” Schlereth said. “But he’s J.J. Watt Lite. I would definitely pay him.”

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What did you learn from your yearlong suspension for gambling?

Eyioma Uwazurike, or Enyi as he is known to teammates, looks me straight in the eye and answers without hesitation.

“Everybody is human. Everybody makes their decisions. Everybody makes their mistakes. Nobody is perfect,” said Uwazurike, a reserve defensive lineman. “… I do know that when situations like that come your way, you learn a lot from adversity. I know I did.

“As long as you are able to overcome it and be smarter, it will help you in the long run.”

Second chances work in different ways. We would like to believe we are all worthy of them. But in sports, that is just not the case, depending on the severity of the offense and the talent of the offender. The NFL banned Uwazurike for a calendar year in 2023 after determining he bet on NFL games, including five involving the Broncos.

He made peace with himself. But he was unsure if the organization would show grace. He was, after all, a fourth-round pick in 2022. He had yet to make an impact and was drafted before coach Sean Payton arrived.

Payton has shown no reluctance to move on from players he believes don’t fit the culture or his program, like Brandon McManus, Randy Gregory, Frank Clark, and, most notably, Russell Wilson. It left Uwazurike anxious as he counted down the days to his reinstatement on Aug. 5, 2024.

“I really had no idea what was going to happen,” Uwazurike said.

Payton believed a lot of NFL players were making mistakes in 2022 and 2023 as sports gambling became ubiquitous. However, of the 11 disciplined during that time, only Lions receiver Jameson Williams and Uwazurike remain with their original team.

Payton brought Uwazurike back. And continues to show faith in him.

“It’s hard to be gone a year, and he was a young player. So to have him now — this is an important camp, training camp and season for him,” Payton said. “His size hits you, his athleticism. How he plays is infectious. So, him having a full year heading into this season will serve him well. It’s hard for any player who sits a season, so he’s done a good job bouncing back.”

It is easy to judge others when you have never screwed up. But once you do, you don’t want to be forever judged by that mistake. Because the Broncos believed in his character, Uwazurike was given a shot at redemption.

“Sean is one of the most loyal, straight-up coaches I have ever had. It definitely means a lot to me to be playing for him, playing for this organization, same with ownership and everyone in the building. They have been great,” Uwazurike said. “Just knowing that I have this community around me is the best.”

Co-owner Greg Penner said there are gradations when it comes to making these decisions, but agreed with keeping Uwazurike on the team.

“He made a mistake. He was accountable for it. You don’t want to see another one,” Penner said Wednesday. “But we felt like he deserved a second chance.”

Even if self-inflicted, the year away was brutal. Uwazurike, however, has long navigated a difficult path. He went from lightly recruited because of poor grades to making the Big 12’s all-academic team. Before facing Notre Dame in a bowl game in 2019, Uwazurike’s father, Roland, died in his sleep. He was 48.

“We were very tight. Like best friends,” said Uwazurike, who has a tattoo of his father’s face on his right forearm. “It was really tough.”

Football was always Uwazurike’s safe space, a place for joy. He struggled to reconcile how he jeopardized his career.

Growing up in Detroit, he was convinced he would reach the NFL after playing his first game as a 7-year-old. When he grew into a star athlete at Southfield-Lathrup High School, he accepted his first Division I offer from Toledo coach Matt Campbell. When Campbell took the Iowa State job, Uwazurike followed him.

He played five years for the Cyclones, morphing from a skinny defensive end into a sturdy run-stuffing tackle.

“I just like the grittiness of it. When you have 600 pounds coming your way fast, and you can stand up to it, it’s a different type of energy,” Uwazurike said. “You feel like you are the toughest person on the field at that moment.”

That is the player the Broncos have witnessed during the first week of training camp. He has been stout at the point of attack, showing the type of urgency necessary for a player on the roster bubble.

“He’s doing really good. Last year, he got thrown into the fire coming off that suspension. That was hard. He showed up here in good shape,” teammate Malcolm Roach said. “He should be able to help us.”

Uwazurike remains thankful, but the truth is he wants to show it on the field, not through his words.

Second chances are not guaranteed. The Broncos have forgiven him. Now Uwazurike wants to repay them.

“I did something. I had to take it on the chin. But I am focused on the future. I am part of a tight-knit group, a defensive line with stars. I see what greatness looks like,” Uwazurike said. “I want to show I belong. I know the player I am. I am confident in the coaches I have, the organization that I am in. I feel like when the opportunity shows up, I will be ready to take advantage of it.”

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“It wasn’t about me,” the Broncos’ veteran receiver told me after practice Tuesday at Broncos Park Powered by CommonSpirit. “At the end of the day, yes, we work in a business of compensation.

“(There’s) talent in that locker room, guys that are coming up, that are trying to get their second contract. I was blessed to be able to get my third. They put the work in just the same way as I have. And some of those guys have more accolades than I have when it comes to the NFL side of things … and to be able to sign the deal that we did, it gives us a chance to keep those guys around.”

Nik Bonitto’s reps are pursuing an extension. Zach Allen, John Franklin-Myers, Malcolm Roach, P.J. Locke, Alex Singleton and Justin Strnad are all heading into contract years.

“Were you conscious of that?” I asked Sutton.

He nodded.

“1,000%,” the wideout replied. “1,000%.”

Big 14 and the Broncos agreed to a four-year deal worth $92 million on Monday. He’ll take home $23 million per year, on average. Nice work if you can get it, only there’s a twist: Spotrac.com’s “market value” estimator pegged Sutton’s worth at about $27 million annually, even suggesting a three-year deal for him in the range of $79.8 million.

DK Metcalf’s playing on a four-year deal with Pittsburgh worth $33 million in annual salary. The Eagles’ A.J. Brown signed a three-year extension through 2029 reportedly worth an average of $32 million a year.

Sutton’s racked up more catches than Metcalf since the start of the 2023 season (140 to 132). Court’s also accounted for 19 touchdowns over that span, compared to Brown’s 14 and Metcalf’s 13.

In other words, at age 29, on what might be his last massive NFL payday, the dude left a little money on the table.

You know what? That was by design, the receiver says. Sutton wants to keep the band together as badly as you do.

“The deal that we wound up signing is a great deal, and it was very beneficial to myself,” he said. “And it gives us a chance to be able to keep a lot of really good players around on this team and for years to come.”

Even with Russell Wilson coming off the books, it’s going to take some cap gymnastics to keep one of the best defenses in franchise history intact. Every nickel helps.

And if you want a no-drama training camp, well, that starts at the top. As a captain, Sutton has remained one of the Broncos’ good soldiers — through joy, pain, hail, locusts, Patrick Star and Nathaniel Hackett.

When pressed about state secrets, Sean Payton makes the KGB look warm and fuzzy. Yet the Broncos head coach trusts Sutton unflinchingly. That says a lot, too.

“If you didn’t say a word, the young guys watch his preparation and his work ethic,” Payton said. “Obviously, his experience (rubs off) with all of those players. But it really starts with this preparation in here (and) onto the field. He’s everything you want in a pro.”

After Payton arrived in Dove Valley two years ago, he brought Sutton, who’d battled injuries and inconsistency, into his office. Worried that Sutton had gotten too heavy, the coach put on some clips from No. 14’s Pro Bowl season in 2019.

“Look,” Payton told him. “I want this guy.”

So far, he’s gotten it. Sutton set personal bests in targets (135), catches (81) and receiving yards (1,081) last fall.

When talking about Sutton Tuesday, Payton sounded positively effusive, especially by Sunshine Sean standards. He even likened No. 14 to Marques Colston, arguably the best receiver he ever had in New Orleans.

“When you get to know him, he doesn’t have too many bad days,” Payton said. “Those guys with the right energy — man, there’s a lot to be said for that.”

There’s a lot to be said for a $27 million receiver who takes $23 million happily, puts his head down, and gets to work.

“I had the utmost faith that something was going to get done,” Sutton said. “And the last thing that I wanted to be was a distraction. That’s what I’ve done my entire career, and that’s what I want to continue to do is not be a distraction.”

And where would Bo Nix be without him? Sutton caught six of his eight TDs last fall from the Broncos’ second-year quarterback after Halloween. During the offseason, the pair couldn’t help but get a little giddy about what they’d already built over such a tiny window.

“I may have the years on him in terms of (an) NFL career. But the dude understands ball and understands leadership to a different level,” Sutton said. “That’s why he is where he is. And so to be able to walk hand-in-hand with him is amazing. And we just try to lead the best way we possibly can for this team so that we can ultimately get to the end goal.”

“Did Bo ever twist your arm to get this contract done?” I wondered.

“He never pressured me in a bad way,” Sutton said. “And that’s the one thing I respected whenever he and I had conversations — he always was right there with me.

“But he knew that I wanted to be here at the end of the day. He knew that this was home. He knew I would do whatever I possibly could to be able to stay here. And make sure that everyone else gets what they deserve as well.”

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“I’m so sorry he had to go through this,” Anita Cunningham told me over the phone early Monday night. Then she laughed. “But, hey, welcome to the club.”

Cunningham, a bladder cancer survivor from Douglas County, volunteers in greater Denver for BCAN, the Bladder Cancer Advocacy Network. She’s been cancer-free — and bladder-free — for about half a decade now.

Anita still bikes. Still hikes. Still swims. When we spoke about Coach Prime’s cancer diagnosis on Monday, she was on her way to play pickleball.

“(I was), ‘Get out of my way, I’ve got a life to live,'” Cunningham said. “‘With or without the bladder, I’ll figure it out.'”

She thinks the 57-year-old Sanders, who announced Monday that he’d battled and beaten bladder cancer, will figure it out, too.

“I know people who are 27 years cancer-free,” Cunningham continued. “So there is life after diagnosis. It’s just different.”

Cunningham, who was initially diagnosed in 2018, went with an ileal conduit, which involves a pouch that catches and holds urine.

“It’s very frustrating,” she said. “But I’m glad he’s on the road to recovery.”

Anita was born into a family of Buffs. Full disclosure: She also wound up going to CSU. Although when it comes to the Bladder Cancer Survivors’ Club, everybody wears the same colors. And the same scars.

“I do wish him well,” Cunningham said. “And I hope, if he ever needs anything, he will reach out to BCAN. As far as resources, I know he’s got the best people possible. But sometimes, when you’re talking to somebody who’s walked the walk, it’s different.”

BCAN actually holds an annual charity walk in Denver for bladder cancer awareness, and Cunningham would like to invite Coach Prime to be a part of it. About 200 folks participated in the 2025 “Walk To End Bladder Cancer” at Great Lawn Park this past May. Ronald Douglas, who organizes the event with Anita, has another lined up for next spring.

“He’s just very open,” Douglas, who has battled non-invasive bladder cancer since 2011, said of Sanders.

“When you lose your bladder, that’s kind of a big deal. I admire him more than ever. I can’t even begin to tell you how much I admire the guy. It’s not an easy road without a bladder.”

Bladder cancer is the fourth-most common cancer in men, according to the American Cancer Society. It’s the 10th-leading cause of cancer deaths in the U.S., with one out of every 125 male cases proving fatal and one out of every 333 female cases.

And Douglas isn’t a Buff, either. He was born and raised in Berkeley, Calif., a Cal Bear to the bone.

“We should all be so forthright with issues like this,” Douglas said. “He really laid it on the line.

“… I can’t tell you how grateful I am for him speaking up and speaking out and being gutsy about it. And maybe, because of him, somebody else down the road will have heard about this.”

Bob Emmerling happened to be on the road Monday morning while Coach Prime was meeting with reporters. Emmerling had, coincidentally, just turned up for his first radiation treatment at around 11:30 when he heard Sanders’ announcement.

The 66-year-old Limon native had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in March and started chemo in early April.

“I felt like someone was just taking a blunt poker (to my back) and just pushing and wouldn’t let up for three days in a row,” Emmerling recalled. “I said (to my wife), ‘You’ve got to take me to the ER right now.'”

Good thing. As any mother or wife will happily remind you, most dudes just aren’t programmed well for pain. Still, as Emmerling reminded me, cancer’s not the kind of thing you can just rub some dirt on and walk off.

“I’ve tried to talk to my male friends since I turned 50,” Emmerling stressed, “telling everyone that this is not something to joke around with.”

Bob said it took longer for him to get comfortable on the table to receive treatment on Monday than it did to get scanned.

“It’s in and out in 15 minutes,” Emmerling said. “It’s just something that you have to go through.”

Sanders’ frank news conference in Boulder reminded Douglas of his own diagnosis nearly 15 years earlier. Like Coach Prime, his primary care physician didn’t exactly mince words.

“‘We have a problem,’ is what he said,” Douglas recalled. “‘I’ll show it to you.’ And it was ugly.

“He was very blunt. But he saved my life.”

Cunningham feels Coach Prime will be getting on just fine with his life, starting with CU’s opener against Georgia Tech on Aug. 29. And bladder or no bladder, her pickleball game’s never been better.

“I’m sorry that he has to be that voice,” Anita said, “but I hope he can become someone who will help get money for research. Because it’s a cancer that’s being looked at as treatable, it’s not … I just don’t think you have the celebrity status like breast cancer has.”

It’s got a celebrity now. A spokesperson for BCAN told me late Monday afternoon that the organization’s Web page about bladder removal had seen more than a 25% spike compared to the previous 24 hours. Of all the bumps from The Prime Effect, that one just might be the best yet.

For more information on the Bladder Cancer Advocacy Network, visit bcan.org.

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He sat down in the Touchdown Club in the Dal Ward Center on Monday with photographers recording every move and reporters recording every word. Dr. Janet Kukreja flanked him on his right. CU assistant athletic trainer Lauren Askevold flanked him on his left.

This was Sanders’ opportunity to reveal how he fought bladder cancer, to create a public conversation. And credit to him for being honest and open.

He made people laugh. He made them cry. But before he took questions, he revealed how his life hung in the balance without saying a word.

For four seconds, Sanders paused when reflecting on his journey over the past three months.

“God is so good. You have no idea,” said Sanders, before stopping with his hands clasped together as he stared forward, diamond-encrusted cross hanging from his neck. “There are some people out there right now dealing with the same issue, affected by the C-word. Normally, when you hear it, there is a life sentence attached to it. But not this time. Not this time.”

Sanders, 57, had a story to share. Advice to deliver. In his most memorable address since coming to Boulder, Sanders showed vulnerability and provided inspiration, pleading with everyone to “get checked out. It could have been a whole different type of gathering for me if I hadn’t.”

Sanders knows more about bladder cancer than he ever wanted to know, and stuff he wished he never knew from his Google searches. He could have died. At one point, he got his affairs in order, having a living will created.

The details of his ordeal were chilling.

Two weeks after a routine vascular checkup in mid-April, Sanders was referred to a urologist. He was told he had cancer. And the bladder tumor was showing “very aggressive” signs.

“You guys gave me options that scared me to death,” Sanders said to the medical professionals.

Rather than go through years of treatment, a more disruptive option given his profession, Sanders chose to have his bladder removed and a neo-bladder created and put in its place. The expectation is that he will make a full recovery, Kukreja said, with no limitations.

“I don’t want anybody to take it for granted. Because it’s real. Everyone in this room, I guarantee, has been affected by the ‘C’ word. Some parents, some friends, some loved ones, somebody,” Sanders said.

Sanders turned to Kukreja and asked, “Doc, we are going to beat it, ain’t we?”

Kukreja responded, “It’s beaten.”

Kukreja, director of urological oncology at University of Colorado Cancer Center, explained that the tumor had moved through the bladder wall, but not into the muscle layer. The importance of this cannot be overstated when looking at survival statistics.

“When it gets into the muscle, that’s when it can spread,” Kukreja told The Post. “That’s when it is a lethal disease.”

For more than three months, Sanders was not on campus. Social media snippets revealed that he was dealing with an undisclosed medical condition. Given the previous issues with his feet — he had two toes amputated a few years ago — and compartment syndrome in his left leg, the fear was that clotting issues had returned.

The reality was way more frightening.

“I didn’t stare death in my face. I stared life in the face,” Sanders said. “The surgery I chose was based not just on family, but football.”

It also created an avenue to help people. Coach Prime beat cancer, and he followed an urgent medical plan so he could return to the sideline this season, where he is most visible.

He might look different, as he did Monday. He said he’s only regained 12 of the 25 pounds lost. And there might be a porta potty on the sidelines because “I can’t pee like I used to pee.” But he didn’t walk 1.3 miles a day with bags of urine to accelerate his recovery to not coach.

“I always knew I was going to coach again,” Sanders said. “It was never in my spirit or in my heart that God wouldn’t allow me to coach again. I never thought like that.”

How Sanders handled the diagnosis aligns with his belief that testimony involves a test. He recovered, while keeping a secret. Sanders has long been criticized for making everything about him. Yet when given the worst news of his life, he did not tell his sons Shedeur and Shilo. He wanted them to focus on making their respective NFL teams — Shedeur with the Browns and Shilo with the Bucs.

It is easy to demand high-profile coaches and athletes use their platform as messengers. That’s convenient when you are not the one who is unable to leave your bed for a week at a time.

Sanders chose to make an uncomfortable topic, especially for men, comfortable.

He joked about the value of Depends after dealing with more accidents than his grandson. He thanked those closest to him, from family to doctors and Hall of Famer Randy Moss, also a cancer survivor.

Sanders’ positivity radiated in the room, his attitude and resilience an inspiration.

His story is now a modern parable of hope.

“It’s not a death sentence. The lesson learned is get checked out,” Sanders said. “I’ve got too much life to be thinking about death. I’ve got work to do. We have to win a darn championship.”

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Keeler: The Rockies need to give the Yankees the Bird. As in right-handed reliever Jake Bird, whose torrid opening nine weeks — 1.67 ERA from opening day through June 1— have rival teams curious if he can repeat it for the stretch run. Bird’s turning 30 in December, and his sweeper-sinker-curve mix, according to StatCast, has raised his strikeout rate from 16.8% in 2024 to 26.7% this season. If you can miss bats at Coors, you can miss bats anywhere. The Yanks allegedly like guys with effective sweepers. You’ve already scouted their farm system in getting RyMac to the Bronx, and Bird is the kind of arm that usually brings back a low-minors lottery ticket on the pitching side. Let’s get scratching.

Renck: General manager Bill Schmidt, trying pointlessly to save his job, would love to get something for Austin Gomber. But other than his decent road numbers, the left-hander projects as a long reliever for a contender. Bird represents the latest example of the Rockies lacking self-awareness. He was oven-mitts-required hot the first two months of the season, and now, well, he’s not. Opponents are hitting .424 off him in his last eight appearances. So, be bold. Make young reliever Seth Halvorsen available. He has several years of control left before free agency. Throws 100 miles per hour. And could land multiple good players. Taking calculated risks is the only pathway out of the darkness.

Keeler:  Like the Halvorsen idea, but I’ll raise you one righty. Can you name the Rockies’ staff ERA leader since May 1? It’s reliever Victor Vodnik. He’s young (25), cost-controlled, and his average fastball velocity (98.6 mph) as of early Monday morning ranked among the top 3% of any MLB pitcher this season, according to Baseball Savant. Despite pitching at altitude, his flyball rate and ball-in-the-air rate are a healthy chunk below the league average. Contending teams who play in small yards — the Reds immediately pop to mind — could always use fireballers who know how to keep the ball on the ground.

Renck: This suggestion hurts, but hear me out: The Rockies should move Kyle Freeland. He has roughly $21.5 million left on his contract. The Rockies saved $36.5 million in the McMahon trade. Get creative — stop laughing — and eat $12 million to land one top prospect. Quantity over quality. Freeland owns a 4.18 ERA this month and has postseason and World Baseball Classic experience. He is Mr. Denver. But he deserves a chance to compete again and could be flipped for a younger starter.

Keeler:  The Rockies throw millions in salary relief to get a local hero and fan favorite off the books? We’ve seen this movie before, my friend. I love it, so it’ll never happen. It’s more likely that Schmidt and the Monforts entertain offers on outfielder Mickey Moniak, the new Nolan Jones. Although yanking The Mick’s bat from this lineup would turn a dumpster-fire offense into a volcano of pure trash in no time.

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“I think (the Nuggets) and the Houston Rockets have probably had the best summers (in the NBA),” Barkley, the longtime hoops analyst/icon, told me last Saturday night at Gaylord Rockies Resort & Convention Center.

“And (the Nuggets), they’ve got the best player in the world (in Nikola Jokic). They just needed some more depth. They kind of broke the team up after they won the first championship (2023), and that’s really unfortunate. (They’ve) still got the best player. You want to give them as many opportunities as possible. But I thought they had a great summer.”

Barkley, the hoops Hall of Famer and unfiltered co-host of the best studio show this century, “Inside The NBA,” which moves to ESPN this fall, flew into town to serve as keynote speaker at Saturday’s Porter-Billups Leadership Academy (PBLA) Gala.

A weekend getaway to Denver ticked off a bunch of boxes for The Chuckster: An excuse to visit an old friend in Chauncey Billups, a window to play some golf at altitude, and a chance to support a great cause in the PBLA — a summer academy at Regis University that provides academic and leadership training to students in underserved communities in Denver.

Billups, aka Mr. Big Shot, is co-executive director of the PBLA along with his old coach at CU, Ricardo Patton. It was established in 1996 by Regis men’s basketball coach Lonnie Porter and his daughter, Staci Porter-Bentley, as a launch pad for Front Range hopes and dreams.

And speaking of Denver dreams, Chuck, did the Nuggets land enough lightning for Nikola Jokic to run with the Thunder in 2026?

“They probably had the best chance of beating OKC (in the playoffs),” Barkley replied. “So it’s not like they were that far off. But like I say, them and the Rockets have both had great summers. So that’s all you can say until they start playing.

“I thought, in no particular order, the Nuggets, the Rockets (and) the Hawks, those three teams had the best summers.”

What a difference a new front office makes. Former Nuggets GM Calvin Booth gambled two years ago that a handful of young players would turn the same corner Christian Braun did. That they’d morph into a cost-effective second unit to balance pricey contract extensions for franchise mainstays Jamal Murray ($46.4 million cap hit in ’25-26), Aaron Gordon ($22.8 million) and the Joker ($55.2 million).

Yeah, that didn’t happen. Booth and coach Michael Malone clashed, sewing the seeds of contention that got both fired this past April and forcing Nuggets ownership to re-assess. Out of the ashes came a new coach (David Adelman), new co-GMs/vice presidents (Wallace and Tenzer), and, most importantly, a roster-shifting trade that got Michael Porter Jr.’s $38.3 million cap hit for ’25-26 and $40.8-million hit for ’26-27 off the books.

MPJ and a draft pick were shipped to the Nets earlier this month, bringing back a similarly-skilled but less expensive wing forward in Cam Johnson ($21.06 million in ’25-26). That, in turn, opened up cap space for the Nuggets to trade for center Jonas Valanciunas, sign 3-point specialist Tim Hardaway Jr., and re-up with Bruce Brown, a vital, popular cog of the ’23 NBA champs.

“Bruce was a big loss (via free agency to Indiana) the first time around,” Barkley said. “And then they lost Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (as a free agent to Orlando). Those were big losses. But now they have retooled. Now they can look forward to the season.”

Even better, Sir Charles, continued, Nuggets fans can look forward to better shooting. Better defense. And a roster that matches up better with divisional rivals in Oklahoma City and Minnesota — as well as the Rockets, Lakers, Clippers, Warriors and Grizzlies.

“First of all, (the Nuggets) got terrific (additions). I think they got more athletic, which they really needed to do,” Barkley said.

“Because if you’re going to beat OKC and the Rockets, you’ve got to be athletic on the perimeter, especially with Durant going down there with those other guys. OKC is probably the most athletic team in the league. But like I say, they got better. And that’s all you could ask for.”

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For a Broncos quarterback to navigate this responsibility, he must understand the magnitude of the position on and off the field.

No job in the state of Colorado has a higher profile. Every Sunday is a referendum, a job performance review from 75,000 bosses — and those are just the ones crammed into Empower Field at Mile High.

Nix demonstrates all the traits of a leader. He is one of the first in the building. He calls players when they get drafted. He organized an offseason passing camp for teammates in Idaho. But what happened during the spring revealed why Nix is so equipped for this role.

After spending his rookie season in the equivalent of a spider cave with endless film and study sessions, Nix took a break. He sought out ways to connect to the community, not for social media clicks, but because it was important to him to expand his reach, deepen his roots.

So in early March, Nix found himself seated on stage with former Broncos quarterback Brian Griese speaking to the largest donors for Judi’s House, which provides the highest quality care to grieving children and families. Griese founded the non-profit in his mother’s memory in 2002, and countless players and coaches have since spoken to this group.

Nix aced it, showing passion and thoughtfulness usually only visible to family and teammates.

“He knocked it out of the park,” Griese told The Post. “He was engaging, inspiring. To a person, the supporters said nothing but good things. I think he approached his rookie season the right way, putting his head down. There is just so much on your shoulders. Being the (Broncos quarterback) is an important role. Everybody on the team knows it. And your outcomes are public. There’s a lot of pressure. But with that pressure comes an opportunity to have a platform. He understands that.”

Nix is 25 going on 50, mature, married, focused. He loves playing quarterback. But as a man of strong faith, his life is not defined by football. He wants to make a difference beyond wins and losses.

Griese was not surprised at how well Nix resonated with the audience while talking football and life. As the 49ers quarterbacks coach, Griese interviewed Nix leading up to the 2024 draft. He saw similarities to San Francisco’s Brock Purdy with his intelligence and makeup.

“I knew how good he was not only as a player, but in his communication and approach,” Griese said.

Talk to folks inside the Broncos building, and they will tell you it is impossible to succeed as the starting quarterback here without understanding the gravity of the position. It is not life and death. But it feels as important as oxygen to breath.

The 13 who followed Peyton Manning before Nix struggled with what it means. Some just were not good enough. Others were injured. And, of course, there was the impostor Case Keenum, a miscast backup, and the high-maintenance Russell Wilson, who hit the right notes off the field, especially in visits to hospitals, but never found his fit in coach Sean Payton’s offense or the locker room.

Despite being the sixth quarterback taken in the 2024 draft, Nix is established. There are no concerns about his arm strength or his knowledge of the offense. He commands respect.

He earned it. And Jake Plummer loves that.

Few Broncos quarterbacks have inspired teammates on and off the field like the former Arizona State star. Hearing stories about Nix makes him believe his upside is boundless.

“You have to remember the main thing is to play ball. If you are not living up to expectations, everyone will let you know it. It is a lot to handle. I am excited to see how he does this season,” Plummer said. “It’s good to be ‘The Man.’ But if you have success as the Broncos quarterback, and you aren’t in the public, people will say, ‘Why doesn’t he care about the community?’

“I enjoyed the limelight. But I wasn’t pulling up with an entourage. I was coming in the back door, having a little fun and then gone before people realized I was there. It seems like he is doing stuff that fits his personality.”

The longer Nix is here, the more he is one of us. Like Colorado was the place he was meant to be.

With a nudge from quarterbacks coach Davis Webb, he became more visible in the spring, attending Nuggets and Avs games. Who he brought said a lot about him. Wife, Izzy, was always by his side, but so were backup linemen and workout partners Frank Crum and Nick Gargiulo, who found themselves in more memorable photos and scenes than Forrest Gump.

“We finally had time this offseason. It’s a great city. My wife and I love being here. Love to call it home. That’s what it feels like. It’s starting to feel more and more like home. And we are making this our place,” Nix said. “With that, I didn’t want to sit at the house all day. I wanted to get out and about and enjoy what Denver has to offer.”

Playing quarterback for the Broncos is not for the meek. It requires immense talent and elephant’s skin. And it helps, explained Plummer, if you are authentic. That’s what humanizes Nix even as his practices remain business-like and serious.

Talking with Griese that night in March showed his sincerity, the type of passion that will continue to endear him to our city.

“He is genuine and humble,” Griese said. “That goes a long way with people.”

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Now, the wise apples over in the Grading The Week (GTW) offices will readily confess our sins because 1.) There are so darn many, we’ve lost count; and 2.) It’s good for the soul.

And Team GTW has got to admit: Before last Tuesday, we’d never really heard of the Colorado Summit. And, because of what is believed to be an act of sporting/community altruism … we won’t be hearing that name for very much longer.

OK, OK, OK, here’s the juice. You know that sweet Denver Summit FC logo that dropped earlier in the week? The nifty green, gold and red number? The one that’ll represent the city’s new National Women’s Soccer League expansion team? The same NWSL team that features Peyton Manning and Mikaela Shiffrin as part of its ownership group?

At any rate, the “Summit” part reportedly needed a little … um … navigating.

Denver’s Ultimate Frisbee Association (UFA) franchise, which calls Mines’ Marv Kay Stadium home, has been using “Summit” since it was founded in 2022.

A Classy Summit — A

Now this is usually the part that gets the lawyers excited. Because while registering trademarks can cost hundreds of dollars, acquiring them from their original rightsholder often costs a whole heck of a lot more.

The Summit could’ve played hardball. Instead, the new soccer brand/nickname was met with a public bow and a hearty congratulation on the part of the “old” Summit, the little guys on the block.

The ultimate frisbee team said via a release that it was “passing the torch” to the new NWSL team, announcing that it would “relinquish its name to Denver’s new … expansion club.”

That’s it? No shakedowns? No litigious finger-wagging? Just a “passing of the torch?” Nobody’s that nice, surely. This is America. We want receipts!

“There was no payment for the team name,” Denver Summit FC spokesperson Brendan Hannan told Denverite.com last week. “The two clubs collaborated on a mutually beneficial relationship.”

And as part of that, moving forward, the old Summit will soon cease to be the Summit at all. The frisbee crew has already begun the process of a rebrand, starting with an online survey for fans that features 10 options — “Alpine,” “Echo,” “Sky” and “Mint” are our personal faves — as well as a box for a write-in option.

Might we suggest “Class?”

Summit FC’s logos — A

And speaking of classy, a GTW salute to Matthew Wolff, who designed the new Summit FC branding. A golden sky? Check. Tip o’ the cap to Red Rocks? Check. A clean green and white base? Check and check. There’s even a secondary logo with mountains tucked inside a giant, burnt red “D” — a very cool, yet totally unique, nod to Broncos helmets past.

Betts powers Team USA to gold — A

Sticking with folks who can’t seem to stop winning, Sienna Betts just took home another trophy.

The former Grandview High School girls basketball star and UCLA signee this past Sunday helped Team USA’s national women’s basketball team notch its fourth straight gold medal in the FIBA U19 Women’s World Cup in Czechia.

Betts recorded a double-double (11 points, 11 rebounds) in a victory over Australia that clinched the gold for the Stars & Stripes. She also averaged a double-double for the tourney (14.6 points, 10.0 boards per game) and led all players in field-goal percentage (58.7%). Her older sister, Lauren, whom she’ll join in Westwood, was part of the Team USA squad that won the U19 World Cup in 2021.

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You scan the box. Jabrill Peppers is standing upright, west of the left tackle, 6 yards behind the line of scrimmage. Miles away. You motion for the snap.

“I knew Peppers was spying me,” former CU Buffs quarterback Steven Montez said of the Michigan safety who introduced him to Big Ten defenses nine years ago. “We’d talked about the look. I recognized the look.”

Didn’t matter. About 1.3 seconds later, Peppers shot through the “B” gap and rolled Montez like a croissant.

“Our answer was, ‘Throw shallow on the right-hand side,'” Montez recalled. “But they had pressed the shallow. Then I was like, ‘Well, what do I do now?’ (Peppers) was just looking dead at me, and I was just like, ‘Oh, shoot. I’m just going to try to step off and make him miss.’ That didn’t work too well.”

He laughs about it now, of course. Every NCAA signal-caller has a Peppers story. A Peppers scar. A survivor’s scar. The kind of wound you’ll roll up your sleeves to show strangers and grandchildren at banquets, weddings and golf tournaments.

“That’ll live with me forever,” Montez chuckled.

Steven’s already walked a few miles where Lewis, the jewel of Deion Sanders’ 2025 recruiting class, is going. As a redshirt freshman in 2016, Montez became the first CU quarterback to throw for a touchdown on his initial NCAA pass attempt since 1959. That was against Idaho State. The next week, an injury to starter Sefo Liufau at Michigan brought him off the bench and into the Big House.

“Lewis is a stud,” Montez said of the phenom from Georgia, who’s slated to tussle with senior transfer Kaidon Salter and Ryan Staub for the right to replace Shedeur Sanders as CU’s QB1.

“From what I’ve heard about him, the kid’s a stud. He can play. From what I saw in the spring, he throws it really well. No matter who they put out there, Coach Sanders is going to put them in a position to succeed.”

The Buffs start preseason camp Monday. The season opener against Georgia Tech under the lights at Folsom Field is just a month away. After two years of watching a Heisman Trophy winner (Travis Hunter) and the best passing QB ever at CU (Shedeur Sanders) take a chainsaw to Boulder’s record books, the Buffs could be handing the keys to a teenager.

Coach Prime started Lewis, who’s just 17, with the first-team offense at CU’s spring game a few months back. He brought the 2025 5-star prospect to Big 12 Media Days in Texas earlier this month.

“Props to him,” Liufau said of Lewis, “if he believes in himself, and if the coaches believe in him and see something in him.”

Montez has been there. Same for Liufau, who made seven starts as a true freshman in 2013. When I called them recently to ask what advice they’d give Lewis, they immediately went back to those freshman scars. And what JuJu can do to avoid them.

•••

Lesson No. 2: Diplomacy is hard. Really, really, really hard. Practice it anyway.

“Over the years, I’ve learned a little bit (more) how to talk to guys,” Liufau said. “How you have to pull them aside and talk to them when something goes wrong.”

Nobody likes to play the bad cop on the sidelines. The best QBs know how to do it constructively. How to not let the heat of the moment burn a bridge with a teammate who’d just missed a block or whiffed on a route.

“As a freshman, the thing I wish I’d learned a little sooner was just kind of getting to know your teammates inside and out,” Liufau said. “Not to say I didn’t know guys. But as a freshman, you’re really trying to figure out your playbook and you’re new to college life.

“For a 17-year-old, especially at the quarterback position, you’ve got a lot going on. You need to know your position. You’ve got to know everyone else’s positions on the field, so you can put the ball in the right hands.”

Liufau came to campus early in 2013 to speed up the acclimation process. He didn’t win the job during camp, which hurt. Yet that August, he also got the best piece of advice he’d receive all season, via a conversation with his father. One he’d also prescribe to Lewis.

“Stay ready,” Sefo’s dad said. “Stay humble. And stay ready. And whenever the opportunity arises, just take it.”

It came. With the Buffs floundering, Liufau made his first collegiate start against Charleston Southern on Oct. 19, throwing for 198 yards in a 43-10 CU romp.

“It was kind of hard, when you’re in the moment and when you’re in camp,” Liufau continued, “to kind of sit back and kind of see where you came from.”

The rest is BoCo history. Sefo still owns CU’s lifetime mark for passing yards (9,763) and for the single-game record passing touchdowns (seven in 2014).

“I think it was good for me to stay in high school and continue my development there, and for (Lewis), it’s different,” Liufau said. “Age is really just a number. If he can play, he can play.”

•••

Lesson No. 3: Head high. Feet on the ground. Always.

“If you win a couple of games, don’t start thinking your (stuff) don’t stink and you end up cutting corners — that you don’t have to do all the stuff you did to get there,” Montez stressed.

“And don’t get too low. Don’t ever lose confidence in yourself as a quarterback. Because if you lose that, then you lose the ability to really play at a high level. Confidence is one of the most important things to have as a quarterback.”

That and perspective. As a high school QB, think of your receiver as a door with a small window at eye level. As a prep, as long as you hit that door, you’re probably fine.

In college, you’re going to have to learn to consistently hit that window. If you’re in the NFL, it’s about hitting the keyhole. With Peppers in your face.

“Everybody kind of has that ‘Welcome To College Football’ moment, right?” Montez said.

“Mine was Peppers. I kind of had another one when Adoree Jackson picked me off when 75% of his body was out of bounds.”

Old wounds can offer a map to grace, as long as you know where you’re going. It’s not about how many times you get knocked on your can, kid. It’s how many times you pop right back up.

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