The Cleveland Browns “quietly” made a noteworthy move with Deshaun Watson’s contract earlier this season.
The Browns and Watson agreed to a restructure in late August, saving some cap space. The move converted $44.79 million of Watson’s $46 million 2024 base salary into a signing bonus. It gave the Browns more than $62 million in cap space, the most in the NFL.
But the move was more than just numbers, according to FOX Sports’ Jay Glazer.
“Here’s the deal, the original contract that was fully guaranteed for Deshaun Watson actually had protections in there, even if he got suspended for the 2022 or 2023 seasons. He still would have not lost any of his guarantees,” Glazer said on the Fox pregame show on Sunday, September 15. “Very quietly, in August, the Browns restructured his deal. When they restructured it, they did not put the same protections in for the next several years. If they have a suspension moving forward, there could be a chance they could go get some of those guarantees. Don’t know why they got it taken out, but they took it out.”
That’s especially relevant now, with Watson potentially facing more discipline from the NFL. A new allegation against the Browns quarterback emerged on Monday. A woman alleges that Watson “roughly sexually assaulted” her in 2020 in her apartment while she was getting ready for a date with him.
The NFL is investigating the new claim, but Watson will not be placed on the Commissioner’s Exempt List, which is essentially paid leave for a player as the league investigates.
