The Cleveland Browns have agreed to make Austin Hooper the highest-paid tight end in NFL history. We now know the details of the contract for the former Atlanta Falcon and what it took to lure Hooper to Cleveland.
Per Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle, one of the best resources for this sort of information, the deal is indeed for the reported four years and $42 million. His numbers mesh with the info at Spotrac on how the deal is structured.
A full $23 million, over 50 percent, is guaranteed at signing. That includes a $10 million signing bonus that gets prorated equally over each of the four seasons.
Hooper will earn a 2020 salary of just $1.5 million, all of which is guaranteed. That base salary goes up to $4.5 million in 2021 and then $9.5 million for each of the final two seasons.
There is a $7 million option bonus in 2021 that gets fully guaranteed on the third day of the league year and will be prorated over the final three seasons for cap purposes. The cap hits in the final two seasons are above $14 million per year, a reflection on the backloaded nature of the deal.