The ugly financials & haunting contract of Browns' Deshaun Watson
The Deshaun Watson contract situation within the Cleveland Browns organization sums up a team still looking for its franchise QB after almost 30 years. It should be studied really. It's not like the Browns could see into the future with Watson, but the financial strain his contract has put on the organization is like an unbreakable chokehold.
Watson will be owed upwards of $45 million for the 2026 NFL season and for other seasons in which he may never take a snap. On the latest episode of the Orange and Brown Talk Podcast, host Dan Labbe and Browns beat reporters Mary Kay Cabot and Ashley Bastock discussed the haunting dilemma. “And that is the fact that they are still cap-strapped because of all the dead money that they have for some of their veteran players that are no longer here,” she said.
“And then the Deshaun Watson contract, I mean, that contract is still counting, I think it’s $46 million against the cap this year. It’s in the mid-40s, and that is a big chunk of change for a player who might not even start for you this season. ” The cap space could easily go to other free agents to bolster the roster, but the money owed to Watson sits in limbo and is immovable, to the point that it is laughable at best.
Dan Labbe would go on to say, “Deshaun Watson is counting $40-some million against the cap this year, $44, almost $45 million dollars against the cap. And you don’t even know if he’s going to start for you. You don’t even know if he’s going to play a snap for you,” he said.
Using up cap space for zero production has become the norm for the Cleveland Browns, especially at the quarterback position. The reality of it is, the cap situation will not go away for at least two seasons, and the Browns are stuck between a rock and a hard place, held hostage by the whole situation. This article originally appeared on Touchdown Wire: The ugly financials & haunting contract of Browns' Deshaun Watson