The new lawsuit filed against Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson possibly — key word, possibly — sparks a chain of events that could culminate in the league suspending Watson, the Browns voiding his future guarantees, and the Browns releasing him.
If it were to happen before the start of the 2025 season, the Browns would avoid $92 million in currently guaranteed salary obligations.
That said, it would still come with a cost. Not in actual dollars but in cap dollars.
Watson’s contract eventually would trigger a total cap charge of $80.77 million. If he was released after June 1, 2025 (or designated as a post-June 1 release), the cap charge would be $26.935 million for 2025 and another $53.835 million for 2026.
It’s still better than paying Watson another $92 million (which also would hit the cap, in time), if they decide after this season that they’d welcome the chance to void the remaining guarantees.
None of this matters unless and until the league successfully suspends Watson for the new lawsuit. The NFL might not want to pick at a two-year-old scar.
Moreover, because a suspension would give the Browns a lifeline from the final two years of a potentially disastrous contract, the league might be more inclined to not help the Browns out of a fully-guaranteed contract that created plenty of consternation for the NFL — and that ultimately sparked a collusion grievance due to the refusal of teams to give other veteran quarterbacks fully-guaranteed deals.
