It was tough to gauge how aggressive the Cleveland Browns would be during the first wave of 2026 free agency, and it didn’t take long for GM Andrew Berry to show his hand.
While the biggest names — Tyler Linderbaum, Malik Willis, Alec Pierce — flew off the board over the first few hours of the league’s negotiating window, Browns fans were left waiting for their team to make a swing. And while Cleveland eventually landed an agreement with one of its top external free agent targets in left guard Zion Johnson, the initial contract details raised plenty of eyebrows.
The Browns reportedly agreed with Johnson on a three-year deal with a max value of $49.5 million with potential annual earnings exceeding $17 million. The 26-year-old also got $32.3 million in guarantees, a hefty payday for a player the Los Angeles Chargers drafted No. 17 overall in 2022, but opted against signing to a contract extension.
Spotrac projected Johnson’s market value more in the range of $11 million per year, so the Browns definitely paid full price to get their guy. He’s set to become the 14th-highest-paid guard in the NFL, and Cleveland’s clearly banking on a player who was once a top prospect coming out of Boston College and is now entering his prime.
But while the numbers might scream overpay on paper, Johnson’s full contract details via Over the Cap should paint a much more pleasant picture for Browns fans.
Andrew Berry quietly made the Zion Johnson contract work for Browns
It’s natural for NFL fans to see the dollar figures and immediately start worrying about the salary cap ramifications. Berry, however, has a knack for revealing the cap for what it is: an often overblown figure that can be manipulated and adjusted in a number of ways.
The strategy Berry almost always utilizes is void years, or “dummy years” tacked onto the end of a contract strictly for salary cap purposes. In Johnson’s case, the Browns are utilizing the NFL’s maximum of five void years, allowing them to spread out his bonus payments and lower his cap hits.
Contract details for new Browns G Zion Johnson, per Over the Cap:
— Daniel Oyefusi (@DanielOyefusi) March 9, 2026
-- $32.39 mil guaranteed ($17.1 mil signing bonus + 26 salary + 27 salary)
-- $12.3 mil option bonus in 2027
-- $11.585 mil option bonus in 2028
-- 5 void years for cap-saving purposes pic.twitter.com/MMi9gq2lcf
As a result, Johnson’s 2026 cap number will be about $5 million, and will only climb to around $8 million in 2027. At that point, the Browns could exit the deal for just a $10.2 million dead-cap charge, per Spotrac.
The only real overpay here is Johnson’s $18.8 million in real cash for 2026, which will be coming out of owner Jimmy Haslam’s checkbook. By front-loading this deal, Cleveland can control the cap number and continue to sign external free agents and 2026 draft picks. It’s why talk of the Browns being stuck in “cap jail” due to Deshaun Watson’s contract is an exaggeration.
Johnson’s going to get his money, and the cold, hard cash may indeed be an overpay based on the market. But the Browns just added one of the top guards available, and his contract structure should supply the team with plenty of ammo to make more moves on Day 2 of the league's legal tampering window.