The Cleveland Browns and perennial Pro Bowl cornerback Denzel Wardagreed to a contract extension, keeping him in his hometown for at least three more seasons. The deal was reported as a two-year deal, worth $62.2 million.
Now, the full details of that contract have been released, thanks to Over the Cap.
According to Over the Cap, Ward's new contract only gives him a slight bump in his cap number in 2026, backloading the deal. His base pay, however, is the veteran minimum, giving the Browns a massive bump in functional cap space to work with this season or carry over into 2027. The Browns now sit with right around $28 million in cap space after extending Ward and lowering his base salary.
Looking at the breakdown of the deal between the Browns, Denzel Ward
They were able to do this by giving Ward a massive $17.2
million signing bonus, a figure that does not count against the cap, but is rather paid in cash. His base salary is once again right around the anticipated veteran minimum in 2027 as well, allocating another $13.2 million filed as a signing bonus, $3.68 million buried in an option bonus, and up to $775,000 in per-game and workout bonuses. This will give the Browns a huge boost next year as they deal with the Deshaun Watson dead cap.
So, the two years left on his deal from there, in 2028 and 2029, include big base salaries. He is due $27.8 million in base salary, and about another $13 million in terms of bonus money on his cap hit. However, if Ward is still performing at a high level at that point, when he will be 31 years old, the Browns could once again restructure that base pay into bonus money again.
Overall, this new deal gives the Browns a great deal of extra cap space in the immediate future, while backloading the cap hits later on. In terms of their roster management and money allocated to the quarterback position, this aligns with where they are in terms of hoping to get back into a competitive position.
This article originally appeared on Browns Wire: Browns, Denzel Ward's new contract details revealed after extension
