What Deshaun Watson Restructure Means For Browns' Financial Future

Another year, another Deshaun Watson contract restructure from the Cleveland Browns. For the team and those running it, i.e. Executive Vice President of Football Operations Andrew Berry in this case, it's nothing new. This has been a common practice for Berry, since acquiring Watson and handing him a 5-year $230 million, fully-guaranteed contract. 

For fans, though, the concept of moving money around and the salary cap implications that come with it, aren't always so clear to those who aren't versed in NFL contract jargon.

So what does this latest Watson restructure mean for both him and the Browns? 

Let's start with the immediate impact. By converting most of Watson's $46 million base salary into signing bonus, it creates around $36 million in cap space for the Browns to utilize when the new league year begins next week. It was a necessary move in order for Cleveland to be cap compliant in 2026 and add to the roster. 

Specific to Watson, it lowers his cap hit for 2026 from around $86 million to more like $44 million by pushing money into void, or dummy years that have been added to the contract. 

To be clear, those fake years are nothing more than placeholders to help prorate all the signing bonus money into smaller amounts each year. Watson's entering the final true year of his deal and is in line to be a free agent in 2027. 

Now, what the void years also create are dead cap figured, or in other words, money that is still being allocated to a player who is no longer on the team, that Cleveland will have to account for after the deal expires. 

For Watson, those figures for each other next two years (according to Spotrac) are about $34.6 million for 2027 and $51.6M for 2028. 

Because those void years disapear when the contract expires, all of that money would normally accelerate onto the current year's cap creating a massive dead cap figure of $86.2 million, but Watson's contract likely has a stipulation in it that allows the contract expiration date to hit a couple days into the 2027 league year begins

That's a strategic move that allows the Browns to then potentially designate Watson as one of their two post June 1 cuts, which allows them to split that dead money across two years salary caps, accounting for part of it in 2027 and part of it in 2028.

Meanwhile, Watson would still become a free agent when the 2027 new league year begins (barring and extension being signed). The manipulated expiration date is simply a contract writing strategy that helps the team create flexibility for itself. 

So in summation, reworking Watson's deal freedom up some critical cap space to make moves in free agency. Watson is in line to be a free agent after this season, but will still be on the Browns's books in the form of dead cap for at least a couple years after he'd potentially no longer be here. 

This could allow change if he somehow wins the starting job this year, plays well and earns an extension from the franchise. Otherwise, there is a glimmer of light at the end of Cleveland's Deshaun Watson experiment. 

Browns Roundtable also offers a fan community and message board. We’d love to have you join us to talk all things Browns. Click the “Join” button at the top of the page to join our community for free.