Cleveland Browns winger Deshaun Watson is expected to charge a record $54.9 million over the NFL 2023 salary cap after signing a fully guaranteed contract last season .
This is clearly unsustainable for a Browns team that has struggled a great deal a season ago and needs to make some moves in the NFL’s free agency.
As part of his record-breaking deal following a trade from the Houston Texans last spring, Watson allowed the Browns to restructure his contract without the quarterback’s approval.
That’s exactly what the Browns did with about 48 hours before the limit was subject to compliance, as NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport reports that Cleveland has restructured Watson’s contract. It saved the team nearly $36 million in room bills.
While this is a great short-term move for the Browns, it will have some big implications going forward. According to Spotrac, Watson will have some extremely large limited hits over the next three seasons after 2023:
2024: 63.96 million USD
2025: 63.96 million USD
2026: 63.96 million USD
To say that the Browns are relying on Watson to lead them to the championship would be an understatement. At this point, they won’t be able to leave him until after the 2026 season if things don’t go well. His base salary from 2024-26 is $46 million per season.
This comes after Watson struggled in his first season with the Browns. After the first 11-game suspension of the campaign, the three-time Pro Bowler threw seven touchdowns versus five interceptions in six starts, taking Cleveland to a 3-3 record in the process. .
By making this move, the Browns get themselves $22.33 million below the cap for entering the NFL’s free-agent spoof.
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