As announced Thursday, Cleveland Browns QB Deshaun Watson will be suspended for the first 11 games of the season. Jacoby Brissett is expected to start in his place as the team looks to salvage the year with their great run game and defense.
Much was made about how the Browns structured Watson’s contract to soften the financial blow of any suspension. Instead, the small base salary in Year 1 is how they have done all of their big contracts and how most are handled around the league.
What that structure did lead to is limited cap savings to the team while he is suspended. With Watson’s deal having just over $1 million in base salary for this year, Cleveland will only pay him just over $400,000 for the six games he will play, leading to a salary cap savings of under $700,000.
The Browns structured Watson’s contract in a way to create cap space options moving forward, including the ability to restructure his deal in future years. In doing so, his suspension adds less than $1 million in cap space that will likely be rolled over into next season.
Right now, Cleveland is estimated to be over the cap in 2023 before their rollover space from 2022. Spending any more money this year, say for QB Jimmy Garoppolo, would put a dent into how much is able to be rolled over.
