Did Browns Double Down on Watson? Contract Breakdown After Restructuring

While a contract restructuring isn't necessarily out of the ordinary in today's NFL, the Cleveland Browns did make headlines Thursday with their adjustment to starting quarterback Deshaun Watson's deal. Sure, the big news is that the Browns now have the NFL's most cap space at $62 million thanks to the restructuring.

However, the fact that the Browns have seemingly gone all in on this coming season may be lost in the talk of cap space. After converting $44.79 million of Watson's base salary for the upcoming season into a signing bonus, the Browns did open up $35 million in immediate cap space. However, this big money move didn't come without its downsides.

That con is the structure of Watson's contract for his final two years in Cleveland. The price of having the former first-round pick's base salary set at $1.21 million for this season is that the team will have to deal with two years of an inflated cap hit.

Per Spotrac , Watson's cap hit will be $27.9 million this season before it jumps astronomically to $72.9 million in 2025 and 2026. While Watson's contract runs through the 2026 season, the Browns will still have Watson count against their cap in 2027 due to a void year even if he leaves, which will carry a $26.9 million dead cap.

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What makes the situation all the more complicated for the Browns is that not only will Watson eat up a huge piece of the proverbial pie, but they cannot just cut him if he doesn't perform up to expectation. In 2025, Watson will carry a $172 million dead cap hit and a $99 million in the following season.

So, while the Browns have a sizeable amount of cap space for this season, it has come at a great cost. Browns general manager Andrew Berry has seemingly doubled down on his five-year, $230 million contract given to Watson.