The Cleveland Browns are sticking with Deshaun Watson. They have no other choice.
The NFL team is expected to keep the embattled star quarterback on the roster after restructuring his contract for a third time in three seasons. The Browns may have buyer’s remorse for doling out his historic $230 million fully guaranteed deal, but they continue to get creative in managing its financial impact.
This latest restructure which Watson agreed to still calls for him to receive his $46 million guaranteed for each of the next two seasons, but it reportedly allows the Browns to spread his dead money over multiple seasons if he stays with the team through the 2026 season. This allows the Browns (3-12) to avoid a massive cap charge in 2027 when Watson is no longer under contract while adding a third and fourth void year pushing dead salary cap into 2030 (he already had two void years from previous restructures), according to ESPN.
Despite the restructuring on Friday, Watson still carries a $72.9 million salary cap hit for the 2025 and 2026 season (the second highest ever in the NFL), ballooning from his current hit of $27.9 million this season. That’s because of the previous two contract restructures over the last two years which created more than $30 million in cap space but has increased the burden on the back end of the deal.
Watson, who suffered a season-ending right Achilles tendon injury in late October, didn’t do much to silence his naysayers this season. The 29-year-old had one of the league’s lowest total quarterback ratings through the seven games he played this season and has a record of 9-10 as the starter since joining the team. A league record $172 million dead cap hit would be triggered if Watson is released this offseason (pre June 1 designation).
The Browns are a storied franchise known for its failures and signing the three-time Pro Bowler was supposed to change the narrative. The five-year contract he signed in 2022, which included the most guaranteed money in league history, has become arguably the worst in sports history. It joins other NFL slipups including Albert Haynesworth’s $100 million bond in 2009 (one of several head-scratching moves by former Washington owner Dan Snyder) and Andre Rison’s $17 million deal in 1995 (another Browns misjudgment of signing a questionable player to an unprecedented deal).
But Watson’s deal is perhaps the worst given not just the massive contract but also that the Browns traded three first-round pick to Houston to acquire the quarterback who received an 11-game suspension in 2022 for violating the league conduct policy related to 23 sexual misconduct lawsuits filed against him by massage therapists. The most recent sexual assault allegation from earlier this year could’ve given the Browns an out for the remainder of the contract, but the league couldn’t find sufficient evidence in its investigation to nullify it.
The Browns are trying to make the most of the situation with little cash to acquire a veteran signal caller through free agency. General manager Andrew Berry and the front office haven’t committed to Watson as their long-term quarterback. But they’re not in position to ditch their investment, still believing that a turnaround is possible and hoping he can return to the Pro Bowl form he displayed in his first four seasons in Houston.
