The Broncos are signing Butler ahead of their mandatory minicamp, which begins Tuesday.
Butler won the UFL Offensive Player of the Year award this spring with the St. Louis Battlehawks for the second time in three seasons, leading the entire league with 641 receiving yards on 29 catches and three touchdowns across nine games, averaging 22.1 yards per reception and 71.2 yards per game.
The Career That Got Him Here
Butler was selected by the Arizona Cardinals in the fourth round, 103rd overall, in the 2019 NFL Draft out of Iowa State, where he broke the school's single-season receiving record with 60 catches for 1,318 yards and nine touchdowns in 2018.
The Cardinals placed him on injured reserve as a rookie with a broken hand and he never appeared in a game for Arizona.
Broncos’ new WR Hakeem Butler is the best receiver in UFL history, owning the all-time receiving yards record at 2,192 yard.
— Zac Stevens (@ZacStevensDNVR) June 15, 2026
He’s the UFL’s Offensive Player of the Year in two of the past three seasons, including last year.
Butler broke Iowa State’s single-season receiving…
He was waived coming out of training camp in his second season, spent time on the Panthers' practice squad, and was signed to the Eagles' active roster, where he played two career NFL games in 2020 without recording a catch across 29 offensive snaps.
Since then, he has spent time with the Steelers and Bengals without making a 53-man roster, and has built the most accomplished career in UFL history in between NFL opportunities, accumulating 2,192 all-time UFL receiving yards that stand as the league record.
"Broncos' new WR Hakeem Butler is the best receiver in UFL history, owning the all-time receiving yards record at 2,192 yards," DNVR's Zac Stevens noted.
The Denver Fit
Butler is 6-foot-5 and 242 pounds with a 4.48-second 40-yard dash, a combination that puts him in tight end territory by size while giving him receiver speed.
He joins a Broncos receiver room that features Jaylen Waddle, Courtland Sutton, and Marvin Mims, making the path to a 53-man roster pretty challenging.
The #Broncos are signing veteran WR and @TheUFL offensive player of the year Hakeem Butler, sources say. A 2019 fourth-round pick of the #AZCardinals, Butler led the UFL with 641 yards receiving on 29 catches for the @BattlehawksUFL and now joins Denver ahead of minicamp. pic.twitter.com/RCSS4mp0Kl
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) June 15, 2026
But Sean Payton has consistently shown a willingness to give second chances to players who have proven themselves in alternative leagues when the traditional NFL path was closed.
This is Butler's fourth opportunity to make an NFL roster.
He is 30 years old. If it happens this time, it will be one of the better stories of the 2026 season.
Photo Credit: © Steven Bisig-USA TODAY Sports
