How much money do the Browns still owe Deshaun Watson? Contract details, salary and years left

A small pop. That’s the noise that a broken achilles is said to make. It’s certainly not the noise heard in the Browns' executive boardroom, as they come to the stark realisation of what a colossal misstep they’ve made.

Deshaun Watson will not play again this season, and his record with the Browns is so poor, both in terms of on field contribution and number of games played, that it has led some to call his signing the worst quarterback deal in NFL history.

And for the franchise as a whole, things are even more worrying than a statistical spreadsheet: there is a lot of money guaranteed in Watson’s contract, and his recent injury puts all of the palms in the boardroom squarely into their faces as those who pay him know that he’s out of action for a long time. So much so that there is even talk of catastrophic financial consequences for the team.

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How much does Deshajun Watson earn?

Watson is, according to reports, owed $46 million in 2025 and $46 million in 2026 from the Cleveland outfit, with every penny you see there fully guaranteed to make an eye-watering total of $92 million for someone who may play a total of zero minutes in that time.

What can the Browns do?

There are two options. Were the franchise to keep him, Watson would simply recover in the injury room and pocket his wages. Easy. Expensive, but straight-forward.

The second option is coming up, but if you’re big-money-sensitive and a Browns fan, look away NOW.

Were the Browns to pay him off, the numbers would be pretty extraordinary. Pre-June 1, the cap hit would be a mind-blowing $172.77 million handed straight over to Watson. A post-June 1 release would mean $72.935 million in 2025, but they’d lose almost $100 million in 2026. Bleak.

The NFL Week 12 game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Cleveland Browns takes place on Thursday November 21, 2024, at Huntington Bank Field in Cleveland, Ohio. Kick-off is scheduled for 8:15 p.m. ET/5:15 p.m. PT. You can follow along with the Browns vs Steelers game with our live text coverage brought to you by Dane Arlauckas right here on AS USA.

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