In February, Browns G.M. Andrew Berry said it’s not a necessity to reduce quarterback Deshaun Watson’s cap number for 2024.
So it was a luxury. And the Browns have splurged.
By reducing his $46 million guaranteed salary to the minimum and giving him the rest as a bonus, the Browns created $35.832 million in 2024 cap space.
Those cap dollars don’t evaporate. They get deferred. To future contract years. Combined with his $46 million base salary each year and the consequences of a 2023 restructuring, Watson’s cap numbers for 2025 and 2026 have skyrocketed to $72.935 million.
There’s also a $36.858 million dead-cap charge looming for 2027, the first year after the current deal expires.
The bigger issue for the cap-rich Browns continues to be the $92 million Watson is owed for 2025 and 2026. If he doesn’t provide the Browns with a return on their investment (money and draft picks) in 2024, will they cut the cord and eat the cash, like the Broncos did with Russell Wilson?
For Denver, the price was $38 million, minus the $1.21 million he’ll earn in Pittsburgh. For Cleveland, it would be two years of $46 million minus the veteran minimum. Plus the cap dollars they keep pushing to future years through the restructurings.