The Cleveland Browns officially have a starting quarterback in Deshaun Watson, and for some reason, they decided to give the job to a player who likely doesn't have a future with the team.
Due to the way Watson's contract is structured, the Browns will almost certainly release him in March, and that just adds another bizarre layer to the team's decision to hand him the starting QB job. The Browns could have given the job to Shedeur Sanders, but instead, they gave it to someone who essentially has no future in Cleveland.
The $200 million reason why Deshaun Watson will be gone after the 2026 season
After the Browns traded for Watson in 2022, they gave him a five-year, $230 million contract that was fully guaranteed. Not only did the Browns make one of the worst trades in NFL history, but they followed it up by handing out one of the worst contracts ever. That's the kind of double whammy that can set your team back for the better part of a decade.
Over the past four years, the Browns have restructured Watson's contract multiple times, mainly so Cleveland could kick the can down the road on his salary cap hits. However, the Browns also included a poison pill when they restructured his contract in December 2024, and the clause pretty much guarantees they will cut Watson by March 13, 2027, so be sure to mark your calendar, Browns fans.
Here's how the clause works, via former NFL agent Joel Corry, who laid out the details in February:
- During the restructure, Watson had two dummy/voiding years in 2027 and 2028 that were turned into real contract years with minimum salaries. Watson also has a base salary of $200 million in 2029 that's NOT guaranteed, but it becomes FULLY guaranteed if he's still on the roster by the third day of the league year in 2027. If the Browns don't want to pay the $200 million, they have to cut Watson before March 13, 2027. (This is a team that once had a trade fall through because they forgot to file the paperwork with the NFL, so hopefully someone sets an alarm for March 12 so they remember to cut Watson.)
By the time next March rolls around, the Browns will have paid Watson $230 million, and you can go ahead and bet everything you own that they're going to make sure they don't have to pay him another dollar.
If Watson were to somehow lead the Browns to the Super Bowl this year, the team would still be forced to cut him because there's no way they'd be able to afford to keep him with the $200 million salary becoming guaranteed in 2029.
And that's the issue here: If Watson plays well, he has no future with the team. If he doesn't play well, he has no future with the team. Starting Sanders would have made more sense.
Although the Browns will avoid paying Watson $200 million by releasing him, they will have to take a massive $86.2 million dead cap hit, which will go down as the second-largest in NFL history. The NFL record for the largest dead cap hit was set just a few months ago when the Miami Dolphins took on a $99.2 million hit when they released Tua Tagovailoa.
The Dolphins are taking on that dead cap hit over two seasons, and that's almost certainly what the Browns will do once they release Watson. The Browns will be able to designate him as a post-June 1 release, allowing them to divide the cap hit over 2027 and 2028:
- 2027: $34.7 million in dead cap
- 2028: $51.5 million in dead cap
The Browns' decision to acquire Watson has been a nightmare since the day it happened, but by 2028, they'll finally be able to put the entire ordeal behind them. Through four seasons, Watson has made $184 million for 19 starts, and he's gone 9-10 in those starts. Yes, that means the Browns have paid him $20.4 million per win. That's good work if you can get it.
The Browns will pay Watson $46 million more in 2026, and that will likely be the last time they give him a single penny.
