During the 2022 offseason, Deshaun Watson signed a five-year, $230 million fully guaranteed contract extension with the Cleveland Browns following his trade from the Houston Texans. Two years later, the Browns have restructured Watson’s contract to generate cap space.
As Spotrac noted, the Browns converted Watson’s $44.79 million base salary for 2024 into a signing bonus to create $35.83 in additional cap space. This transaction also added one void year for Watson’s contract (2027).
The 33rd Team NFL writer Ari Meirov tweeted that the converted salary reduced Watson’s cap hit for the 2024 NFL season to $27.9 million. It also gives the Browns a league-high $51 million in cap space this year, per Over the Cap. However, he will count for a whopping $72,935,000 for the 2025 and 2026 seasons.
The #Browns restructured Deshaun Watson's contract today, as @FieldYates noted.
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) August 29, 2024
His updated cap numbers:
2024: $27,942,678
2025: $72,935,000
2026: $72,935,000
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2027: $26,864,000 (void yr) pic.twitter.com/I9GXrEh9NK
Watson hasn’t played an entire regular season since joining the Browns. He played only six games during the 2022 season after serving an 11-game suspension for violating the league’s personal conduct policy.
A year later, he was off to a good start by leading the Browns to a 5-1 record. Unfortunately, an injury to his throwing shoulder that required surgery ended his 2023 campaign. Browns fans hope the team’s investment in Watson will pay off this season because they have a team ready to compete in the AFC playoffs.
-Lance Fernandez