Broncos safety Brian Dawkins is aware that he'll have to take a pay cut if he's going to remain with the team. "When I signed this deal, I knew what it was," Dawkins said. He signed a five-year, $17 million deal that included $7.2 million guaranteed in February 2009. Dawkins, who will be 38 in October, hit a contract escalator that jumped his 2011 salary from $2.24 million to $6 million. The Broncos want to take a large portion of that money back, according to The Denver Post. "It was basically a two-year deal," Dawkins said. "I knew after a couple years there was a balloon (mechanism) and we most likely would have to restructure. That's no big deal to me."