Broncos give GM George Paton a new deal and double down on their direction through 2030

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) — General manager George Paton signed a five-year contract with the Denver Broncos on Friday that runs through the 2030 season.

Paton had a year left on his contract when he signed the new deal, which owner and CEO Greg Penner said “reflects our confidence in his leadership, vision and the overall direction of our team.”

Penner praised Paton's “forming (of) a collaborative and supportive partnership with Sean Payton," the head coach of the Broncos, who reached the AFC championship last year but lost to New England with quarterback Bo Nix sidelined by a broken ankle.

“I’ve enjoyed working with George over the last four seasons and appreciate the alignment we share in positioning the Broncos for sustained success,” Penner said.

Paton joined the Broncos in 2021 after a 14-year stint with the Minnesota Vikings. He replaced John Elway as GM.

He bounced back after the poor pairing of coach Nathaniel Hackett (fired less than a year into the job) and quarterback Russell Wilson (released before a mega contract even kicked in, saddling the team with a record dead cap hit of $85 million).

The Broncos had a quiet offseason after securing 17 of their own players with a combined $320.5 million guaranteed at signing since the start of training camp in 2024. Paton's biggest splash was acquiring speedy wide receiver Jaylen Waddle from Miami in exchange for Denver's first-round pick in last month's NFL draft.

Since Payton's first season in 2023, the Broncos have averaged 11 wins a season and earned back-to-back playoff berths and the No. 1 seed in the AFC playoffs last year. They beat Buffalo in overtime in the divisional round but lost Nix. He was replaced by Jarret Stidham, who made a trio of big blunders as the Broncos lost the AFC title game 10-7.

Only the Bills and Philadelphia Eagles, with 25 wins each, have won more games over the last two regular seasons than the Broncos, who have won 24. They captured their first AFC West title in a decade last year.

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FILE - Denver Broncos general manager George Paton responds to question during a season-ending news conference, Jan. 27, 2026, at the NFL football team's headquarters in Centennial, Colo. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File)

PHOENIX (AP) — A federal judge on Friday threw out a defamation lawsuit against Fox News, ruling for a second time against a former Donald Trump supporter who said he received death threats when the network aired false conspiracy theories about his involvement in the Capitol insurrection on Jan. 6, 2021.

Raymond Epps, a former Marine, was falsely accused by Fox of being a government agent causing trouble near the Capitol that day so that it would be blamed on Trump fans. He said he and his wife sold an Arizona ranch where they lived and moved into a recreational vehicle because of the harassment they faced after Fox's reports.

U.S. District Judge Jennifer L. Hall in Delaware granted Fox's motion to dismiss the case, finding Epps failed to show enough evidence to prove that Fox knew its statements were false.

The judge previously dismissed the case in 2024 but gave Epps a second chance to file his case. Her Friday ruling said he still fell short.

Epps had named Tucker Carlson, who was fired from Fox in April 2023, as being the most active promoter of the conspiracy theory. At the time, Carlson hosted Fox’s most popular show. Epps was featured in more than two dozen segments on Carlson’s prime-time show, the lawsuit said.

“In the aftermath of the events of January 6th, Fox News searched for a scapegoat to blame other than Donald Trump or the Republican Party," lawyers for Epps wrote in their lawsuit. "Eventually, they turned on one of their own.”

In a statement Friday night, Fox News said it was "pleased with the federal court’s ruling, further preserving the press freedoms of the First Amendment.”

Epps pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge related to the Jan. 6 riot and was sentenced to a year of probation. He was later pardoned by Trump alongside 1,500 others who received clemency for their roles in the insurrection.

Federal prosecutors have backed up Epps’ vehement denials that he was a government plant or FBI operative. They say Epps has never been a government employee or agent beyond serving in the U.S. Marines from 1979 to 1983.

FILE - Metropolitan Police Department officers try to hold back rioters on the West Front at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez, File)