The Cleveland Browns have restructured their third contract in the last week. First, it was offensive guard Joel Bitonio. Then defensive end Myles Garrett agreed to the restructuring, and now tight end David Njoku has also restructured his deal. Njoku’s restructure will clear another $2.7 million in cap space.
The Browns now lead the NFL in cap space by a wide margin this season but do not expect them to spend it as they are expected to roll it over into 2024 to cover their red margin currently on their tab.
It takes an owner who is willing to put the money out there up front, but by kicking these contracts down the road, the Browns can pay out that same amount of money on a higher salary cap in a future year. So instead of accounting for a certain amount of the salary cap in 2023, that same amount of money restructured will now count as a lower percentage against the cap as that number continues to grow.
This is masterful work by Berry as he has the recipe down to keep the competitive window of the Browns open for as long as possible.
