By now anyone who took the bait on the story of the Cleveland Browns receiving $88 million in total salary cap credits due to an insurance policy that reportedly paid out due to quarterback Deshaun Watson’s injuries in 2024 and 2025, may be scratching their heads.
While Pro Football Talk initially stated that figure in a post on X, salary cap expert Jason Fitzgerald of overthecap.com said the figures have been misconstrued.
The bottom line: the NFL prorates cap hits based upon the amount of insurance received across bonus and salary. Watson’s injury situation complicates matters, Fitzgerald wrote on overthecap.com.
The policy for Watson had $58.17 million in insurance that was tied to an injury suffered in the 2024 season. That number covered salary in ’24 and ’25. He played seven games that year and none in 2025.
However, Watson’s situation is convoluted due to the nature of his injuries, and eventually having two surgeries for his Achilles injury.
“But a video popped up of him dancing prior to the second surgery. Did the Browns collect all of that? Probably not but they should have received (or will receive) a pretty big number from it,” he writes.
In short: even if not worth $88 million, the Browns won’t be hurting and have likely received cap relief of some sort.
George M. Thomas covers a myriad of things including sports and pop culture, but mostly sports, he thinks, for the Beacon Journal.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Figuring Browns QB Deshaun Watson’s salary cap hit, insurance numbers
Reporting by George M. Thomas, Akron Beacon Journal / Akron Beacon Journal
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By George M. Thomas, Akron Beacon Journal | USA TODAY Network
