Josh McCown Contract Details Revealed
The Cleveland Browns signed Josh McCown yesterday but the questions remained.
- Was he going to be the starter?
- Will they sign another QB?
- How much did he get paid?
Well we got some information to at least answer the last question as details about McCown’s contract were reported by numerous sources today and they all are very similar:
What’s the market for a hybrid starter/backup like QB Josh McCown? His deal is 3 years worth roughly $15M, source said. Not bad.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) February 28, 2015
To put that in perspective, that is about what McCown made last year with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and similar to what Matt Cassell made with the Minnesotta Vikings. It is a little over a million dollars (a small number in NFL contract terms) more than Matt Moore, Michael Vick, Matt Hasselback and Ryan Fitzpatrick made.
Basically McCown is getting paid a yearly salary just above what proven backups are getting paid. We can call it the “You might have start for us for a year” bonus or the “We need you to babysit Johnny Manziel” bonus or, for you negative thinkers, the “Please come to Cleveland no other quarterback wants to” bonus.
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Either way the McCown contract is not all that big, not anything to get worked up about. The Browns have a ton of cap space and this contract is not going to keep them from a single thing they were going to do otherwise in free agency. If it works out and McCown starts and plays okay, the Browns got a deal. If it doesn’t work out but McCown helps mentor Manziel, I would say the Browns still got a deal. That is the worst case scenario and it isn’t half bad.
The Browns have a QB that could start, although not at anything near playoff level, and can help lead the QB room. Brian Hoyer is most concern about starting and making a name for himself, which makes sense given his age and limited chances so far. He would not have been willing to do both of the things McCown is willing to do.
The Browns could still sign another QB and are likely to either draft another or trade down in the draft in preparation for the 2016 NFL Draft.
What do you think about Josh McCown’s contract numbers?