Deshaun Watson contract restructure: How much will he earn from his new salary?

The Cleveland Browns’ off-season preparations took a major step forward on Thursday as the team made a major contract restructure for quarter-back Deshaun Watson.

The Browns are still looking to strengthen ahead of the 2024/25 season but had minimal space in the salary cap, ESPN reports. To help free up some cash, Cleveland have converted $44.79 million of the $46 million base salary owed to Watson this season into a signing bonus.

This gives Browns more than $62 million in available salary cap space, the most in the NFL at time of writing. But Browns fans shouldn’t get too carried away about massive incomings, much of that figure will need to be rolled over to next year to help deal with a projected $44 million budget shortfall in 2025.

How much is Deshaun Watson’s new salary?

In March 2022 the Browns gave Watson an NFL-record $230 million guaranteed salary deal to prise him from the Houston Texans. Watson will not lose out financially as a result of this restructuring, the money owed to him will simply be paid as a bonus rather than as part of his salary.

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This latest adjustment is the second time that Watson’s deal with Cleveland has been restructured. In 2023 the team added a void year to his contract, spreading out the cost of the deal and increased cap space to by $36 million in the process.

Having cleared a significant amount from their salary cap the Browns may still dip into the trades market to strengthen for the upcoming season. One name mentioned repeatedly is San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk, who is yet to find a contract resolution and has not taken part in team practice. If he’s unable to agree a new deal with the 49ers, the Browns could be well placed to swoop in.