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Watson’s new deal means the opposite of what you were told Part 3

It’s been said and written all over Browns media that Deshaun Watson’s reworked contract signals that he has to be on the team beyond 2025. It actually means basically the opposite. We’ll get to that shortly.

First, we’ll have to make an assumption about how his contract was altered because the reporting thereabout is less reliable than craps as a retirement plan. The most likely modification would be to add a void year for 2029 and convert $44.745 million of 2025 salary to prorated bonus.

That would create $35.796 million in cap space for the upcoming season. And on paper, money would be associated with Watson through 2029 (that would be a maximum restructure) but in reality all of the money will have hit the cap by 2028 — and it’d only take that long if he were on the team for all of 2026 (which was already scheduled to be effectively the final season of his contract) but he probably won’t be.

A post-June 1 designation in 2027, when only void years remain on Watson’s contract, would be the way that his cap count could reach as far as 2028; the money attributable to his 2029 ledger would accelerate and hit the cap sheet in 2028.

The purpose of this designation will be briefly explained so we can get to what can be gleaned about his future with the Browns, in Part 4.

@PoisonPill4

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