Deshaun Watson's contract with the Cleveland Browns has been restructured, paving the way for his return in 2025. The deal now includes two additional void years, pushing his dead cap hit further into the future.
The Cleveland Browns and quarterback Deshaun Watson have agreed to a contract restructure , a source confirmed to ESPN on Friday. The move signals that Watson is likely to return to Cleveland in 2025 despite his on-field struggles and back-to-back season-ending injuries. Watson has two years remaining on the five-year, fully guaranteed $230 million deal that he signed upon being traded to Cleveland before the 2022 season.
The Browns owe Watson $46 million in each of the next two seasons, and he has a cap hit of $72.9 million in 2025 and 2026 -- both the second highest in the NFL.The reworked contract adds two void years to the deal, allowing the Browns to push out his dead salary cap into 2030, sources said. Watson's contract contained two void years (2027-28) before the restructure. Now, it has four. He's still under contract for the next two years and set to be a free agent in 2027. Releasing Watson after the season with a pre-June 1 designation would have triggered a league-record dead cap hit of $172 million. Watson, 29, has been sidelined since late October with a right Achilles tendon tear. In seven games, Watson posted the lowest total QBR of qualifying passers in the NFL. Watson has played in just 19 games since the Browns traded three first-round picks for him and gave him what -- at the time -- was a record amount of guaranteed money in a contract. He served an 11-game suspension in 2022 after more than two dozen women accused him of sexual assault and inappropriate conduct during massage sessions. Watson was limited to just six games in 2023 because of injuries and missed the final eight after undergoing season-ending shoulder surgery
NFL Cleveland Browns Deshaun Watson Contract Restructure Salary Cap
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