Jonathon Cooper will be paid his full salary while on the exempt list, but he can’t play in games or practice with the team. Kyle Terada / Imagn ImagesAug. 30, 2026 Updated 3:09 pm EDTThe NFL has placed Broncos outside linebacker Jonathon Cooper on the Commissioner Exempt List, a league spokesman confirmed to The Athletic. His placement on the list comes in the wake of two arrests resulting from domestic incidents with his then-girlfriend in June.Cooper will be paid his full salary while on the exempt list, but he can’t play in games or practice with the team. He will be allowed to attend meetings and receive treatment at the team facility, but will not count against the team’s 53-man roster limit. Commissioner Roger Goodell has sole discretion to place a player on the list or remove them from it. The exemption is typically used for players who have pending legal cases and/or are still under investigation by the league.The duration of time players spend on the exempt list has ranged from a few days to an entire season, and there’s no indication yet as to how long Cooper could remain on the list. He could still be subject to a suspension by the NFL.
Cooper was initially arrested June 4 after police were called to his apartment following an altercation with his then-girlfriend. He was initially charged with domestic violence and misdemeanor criminal mischief. The charges were later upgraded to include felony second-degree assault by strangulation after a further review of the incident that included a report from a nurse who examined the woman the night of the initial incident. The nurse wrote in her report at the time that the woman suffered “serious bodily injury” that was consistent with “strangulation with hypoxia” and “traumatic brain injury,” according to an arrest affidavit.Cooper was arrested a second time June 11 on a charge of violating a protection order put in place after the initial incident. He is due to appear for an arraignment hearing on Monday.Cooper was excused from the Broncos’ minicamp in mid-June following the second arrest, but he reported to training camp along with the rest of the team on July 28 and has participated in every practice. He also started the first preseason game in Atlanta.Cooper, a seventh-round pick of the Broncos in 2021, finished second on the team last season with eight sacks. He had a career-high 10.5 sacks in 2024 and signed a four-year extension with the Broncos in November of that season that came with $33 million in guarantees.This story will be updated.
