General manager Andrew Berry and the Cleveland Browns shocked the NFL world on Tuesday night when they made Denzel Ward the highest-paid defensive back in league history for the second time in his career. The Browns signed their star corner to a two-year, $62.2 million extension that, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter, includes $52.3 million in guarantees.
The full details of Ward’s contract have yet to be announced, but his $31.1 million in average annual value topped Trent McDuffie’s recent mega deal with the Los Angeles Rams. Ward’s new number will be of particular interest to star cornerbacks in waiting, such as Seattle's Devon Witherspoon and New England’s Christian Gonzalez.
But as Browns fans have come to know well throughout the Berry era, contract numbers can be manipulated and interpreted in a number of ways. Ward may technically lead all NFL cornerbacks again in AAV, but the team definitely didn’t make the same kind of financial commitment that the Rams invested in McDuffie, who got $100 million in guarantees alone over the next four years.
Browns cap expert Jack Duffin of Orange and Brown Report projects Ward’s salaries in 2026 and 2027 to be fully guaranteed, with a potential out in 2028 when Ward will be entering his age-31 season.
Will take a few days to get the full financials of the deal.
— Jack Duffin (@JackDuffin) July 28, 2026
Ward was already under contract for two more years.
So in total it’s $100.7m/4 with the first two years of it guaranteed and then two team options for 2028 & 2029 https://t.co/PphCJVDQz4
The Browns' record commitment to Denzel Ward may come with a strategic twist
Ward was widely considered to be a trade candidate this offseason, as the team took a curious approach to his original contract. The Browns could have cleared around $12 million in immediate cap space at any time via a routine salary conversion, but they mysteriously left those savings on the table while carrying Ward’s $30.8 million cap hit through free agency and the draft.
Further complicating matters was that none of the near $40 million remaining in Ward's original contract was guaranteed. The Browns essentially fixed that by giving him a well-deserved pay bump closer to current market value.
Duffin projects Ward to earn $26.15 million in both 2026 and 2027, which equates to the full $52.3 million in guarantees that Schefter reported. If that’s indeed the case, Ward would essentially be back in a similar boat as this summer entering 2028, with slightly higher salaries but no remaining guaranteed money. If the two sides were to part ways at that point, Ward wouldn’t end up coming close to that $31.1 million AAV number that’s being thrown around.
None of this is a bad look for the Browns. They’re doing right by one of their best players who was due for a raise and clearly wanted to stay in Cleveland.Â
But they easily could have pushed his extension to four years at over $100 million, with guarantees in that McDuffie and Sauce Gardner range. They stopped short of that, likely due to Ward’s age, injury history, and the reality of fielding a young, up-and-coming team that may not be ready to compete for a championship for two or three more years.
In the end, the Browns made a feel-good commitment to a universally liked player. But if Duffin is correct (and he almost always is with his cap projections and analysis), we could find ourselves right back in the same spot with Ward in the blink of an eye.
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