NFL
Bitonio pens three-year contract extension with Cleveland Browns
Joel Bitonio has committed to the Cleveland Browns by signing a three-year extension as the guard hopes to spend his entire career with the same team.
Cleveland Browns guard Joel Bitonio has pledged his commitment to the team by putting his name to a three-year contract extension. The new deal will keep him with the team through the 2025 season.
Bitonio signs lifelong extension
The new terms are reportedly worth around $48million to Bitonio, who says he is hoping to finish his career in Cleveland. The 30-year-old was a second-round NFL draft pick in 2014, having played college football at Nevada.
"I've been here for eight years now and seen a lot of ups and downs," Bitonio said in a statement. "To be part of that and for the team to have faith in me and allow me to be here for my entire career, it really means a lot. It's special. You see guys switch teams a lot and go from team to team, great players in this league. I saw Joe Thomas end his career here. It's something when you get into Year 8 and Year 9, it gets in the back of your mind where it'd be really special to be in Cleveland your whole career and try to win a championship with these guys. I just want to thank the Haslams, Andrew Berry and Coach [Kevin] Stefanski for having faith in me and providing me with this opportunity. I've got a lot of good friends on the O-line, and it's guys who work hard and love the game of football and are passionate about the Cleveland Browns. We want to run the ball, we want to protect Baker [Mayfield] and take our shots down field. There's sometimes a lack of good linemen in the league, so to get five, six, seven good ones on a team, it's really nice to have that depth and hopefully we can keep the guys together for as many years as possible."
Bitonio's extension comes just after fellow guard Wyatt Taylor was tied to a four-year extension worth $56.8million on Tuesday as Browns general manager Andrew Berry looks to lock down key players.
"After last season, we decided that one of our major football priorities would be to make Joel Bitonio a Brown for the rest of his career," Berry said in a statement. "Joel is one of our most decorated players and is the ideal personification of our 'Tough, Smart, Accountable' mantra. We value Joel's high-level performance, leadership, consistency and durability. We are all excited about this extension and hopeful that at the end of his career we will all be looking forward to celebrating Joel's gold jacket fitting in Canton."