The addition of Deshaun Watson by the Cleveland Browns has many layers. The team dealt away five draft picks to acquire Watson and a draft pick. The Browns will likely trade away four-year starting quarterback Baker Mayfield, perhaps to the Indianapolis Colts or Seattle Seahawks. The team also gave Watson a historical guaranteed contract as a part of the decision.
All of that is normal parts of evaluating and discussing an NFL decision. Watson’s acquisition is anything but normal. Facing 22 civil cases due to allegations, despite none being considered for criminal charges, creates far more layers to the story.
One of which includes the possibility of a suspension coming from the NFL. Recent history leads to the belief that one is coming despite no criminal charges.
The contract Watson is signing with the Browns, at a base salary level, is far less than what he was scheduled to make when he was with the Texans. Money lost on a suspension comes out of the player’s base pay for the season, so Watson would lose around $55,000 per game under his new deal if a suspension is levied, whereas he would have lost nearly $2 million per game with the Texans.
Under the terms of his Texans contract, his base was $35 million, which means he would've lost $1.94 million for every game he was suspended. Under the terms of his new deal, he'll lose $55,556 for every game he's suspended.
Pretty massive difference. https://t.co/z0RtrFKe78
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) March 18, 2022
While most large contracts include large signing bonuses to help minimize the cap hit in the first year of the deal, doing so in Watson’s case creates a loophole of sorts. For the Browns, it creates a cap hit that is likely to come in around $10 million for 2022 but for Watson the benefit could be much greater if a suspension is levied by the NFL.
We will continue to provide you coverage of all the layers of the Browns pending acquisition of Watson.