5 crucial moves the Cleveland Browns have to make this offseason

2. Extend Baker Mayfield

The Cleveland Browns can learn from the curious case of the Dallas Cowboys. This confusing franchise continually declines to pay their star quarterback, and it’s going to cost them dearly. Dak Prescott proved for four years that he was their guy and likely could have signed a deal similar to what Carson Wentz and Jared Goff received — Goff was given $134 million over four seasons and Wentz landed a $128 million contract over the same span of time.

Had Dallas paid Prescott then, it would have been a deal costing them roughly $33-$35 million per season. But they balked and Prescott was given the franchise tag. He made more than $31 million in 2020 and if he gets tagged again, that will cost $37 million — and his agent is no dummy, so the contract will start a little north of there, possibly the $40 million range. Throw in the fact that Goff has since been traded and Wentz was benched and Prescott can argue for much more as well since he’s not as risky as they proved to be.

The moral of this story is that it only costs more to wait on a player. Once you know you have your guy, lock him up. A contract might look crazy when first signed but once a few years have passed, it becomes the norm — see Derek Carr and Jimmy Garoppolo’s deals for an example. Cleveland saw in 2020 they can win with Baker Mayfield and rather than waiting for him to play out his rookie deal, they should lock him up long-term.

Doing so would help them figure out how to navigate the cap going forward and it also helps them in the long run. Whatever they can sign Baker for right now will be a bargain compared to what he can get after another successful season.