It’s hard to imagine a worse contract situation than what the Cleveland Browns cooked up with disgraced quarterback Deshaun Watson.
Baker Mayfield was a successful quarterback in Cleveland, even beating the rival Steelers in a road playoff game. However, the Cleveland front office evidently didn’t think Mayfield was good enough to merit the kind of contract extension that is typically given to successful quarterbacks at the end of their rookie deals.
Cleveland solved this by massively overcorrecting on its unwillingness to pay Mayfield. On March 18, 2022, the Browns executed a sign-and-trade for Watson, acquiring the distressed asset from Houston and handing him a giant new contract worth more than $200 million.
Houston was happy to get rid of the toxic waste dump that Watson had become after he was accused of inappropriate conduct by more than 20 massage therapists. A few months later, Cleveland made a quarterback dump of its own, trading Mayfield to Carolina for a measly fifth-round pick.
Watson has been a bad story for Cleveland both on and off the field. He’s yet to play more than seven games in a season for the Browns. When he has, he’s mostly been bad – PFF rated him as the No. 33 NFL quarterback in 2024.
With Watson still under contract for another two years, Cleveland is locked into yet another cycle of awful quarterback play. Fans and bettors are hoping the new Shedeur Sanders contract might be the savior for the Browns’ odds market.
Oh – did I mention Cleveland gave Houston six draft picks in the Watson trade, including three first-rounders?
Deshaun Watson Contract
As part of their trade in 2022, Cleveland signed Deshaun Watson to a five-year, $230 million contract that runs through 2026.
The contract includes a full no-trade clause. It also explicitly protects Watson against forfeiture of earnings from NFL suspensions.
Deshaun Watson Signing Bonus
Deshaun Watson received $44.965 million as a signing bonus in 2022.
Deshaun Watson Salary
Deshaun Watson will earn $46 million from his NFL contract in 2025. Nearly $45 million was restructured as a signing bonus in March to clear cap room for Cleveland.
Deshaun Watson Guaranteed Money
Deshaun Watson’s full $230 million contract was guaranteed at signing in 2022.
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