Browns sign Isaiah Bond to unprecedented contract: Why the undrafted free agent was given a historical deal

The Cleveland Browns handed out an unprecedented contract on Monday when they decided to give Isaiah Bond a fully guaranteed three-year, $3,018 million deal. 

The deal means that Bond will be getting 10 times more guaranteed money than any other undrafted free agent from the 2025 class. So why were the Browns willing to give the wide receiver such a historical deal? Let's break it down. 

What undrafted free agents usually make

If a player goes undrafted, they can sign with any team they want following the draft, but there's not usually much money involved. Before Bond signed his deal on Monday, the most guaranteed money given to any player this year was $300,000. According to Spotrac, there were a total of five undrafted players in 2025 who signed a deal that included $300,000 in guaranteed money. 

Over the past 10 years, the largest amount of guaranteed money that any undrafted free agent had ever been given came in 2024 when Colorado State cornerback Chigozie Anusiem landed $350,000 from the Washington Commanders. Bond is getting nearly $2.7 million more than that. 

When it comes to undrafted free agents, there's no guarantee that they're going to make the roster, which is why teams generally won't commit a lot of guaranteed money to them, but in this case, the Browns obviously decided to make an exception for Bond. 

Why Bond was given such a large contract

Although Bond went undrafted back in April, the former Texas and Alabama wide receiver was actually projected to be a Day 2 pick, which means that most experts thought he would be taken in the second or third round. However, Bond ended up going undrafted after turning himself in for outstanding sexual assault warrant on April 10, just two weeks before the start of the draft. 

Bond called the accusations "patently" false and after four months of waiting, he ended up being cleared on the charges after a "no bill" was returned from a grand jury in Collins County, Texas. 

"After reviewing all the evidence presented, a Collin County grand jury returned a 'no bill' in the sexual assault charge involving Isaiah Bond, meaning no indictment will be issued. This concludes the criminal proceedings in this matter," Collin County District Attorney Greg Willis said in a statement on Aug. 14.  

With the charges behind him, Bond quickly looked to sign with an NFL team and the first one that came knocking on his door was the Browns. 

Based on the guaranteed money in his contract, the Browns are clearly enamored with his talent. At $3.018 million, Bond is getting more guaranteed money than the top pick of the third round, Darius Alexander. The defensive tackle, who was taken by the Giants, has just $1.56 million in contract guarantees. Although Bond has more guaranteed money in his deal, his total compensation won't come close to matching Alexander, who has a deal that's worth $6.76 million overall.

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The final pick of the 2025 NFL Draft, New England's Kobee Minor, was given a four-year deal worth $4.3 million, but it includes just $101,000 in guaranteed money. If Minor gets cuts in training camp, he'd walk away with just his $101,000. If Bond somehow got cut before Week 1, he'd get his full $3.018 million. 

The Browns clearly have high hopes for Bond, who will be joining a Cleveland receiving room that already includes Jerry Jeudy, Diontae Johnson and Cedric Tillman. Jeudy is the only true weapon and it won't be surprising if Bond quickly climbs up the depth chart after his arrival. 

The 21-year-old caught 99 passes for 1,428 yards and 10touchdowns over the past three years while playing at Alabama (2022-23) and Texas (2024). 

This isn't the first time the Browns have handed out an unprecedented contract. After trading for Deshaun Watson in 2022, the Browns gave him a fully guaranteed five-year, $230 million deal that rankled a lot of owners around the league.