Former Browns’ QB wins interesting contract holdout and gets a massive raise in return.
Former Cleveland Browns quarterback Jacoby Brissett completed and was victorious in one of the most bizarre contract holdouts in recent NFL history.
Brissett is rarely confused with Patrick Mahomes or Josh Allen and, more so, finds himself in conversations with quarterbacks at the bottom of the league, especially coming off a 1-11 record in 2025. Regardless of that reality, he just completed a holdout that netted him an increase in salary from $4.48 million to $15.5 million with incentives up to $21 million.
It is truly an impressive bump in pay for a guy who has become a journeyman in the NFL, but clearly a respected one. Without getting into the question of “what is Arizona doing,” jumping the pay of Brissett is certainly a marker on how these quarterbacks in charge of a very clear tank want to be paid.
The Cardinals are not anywhere close to being in any type of contention to win anything next year. Not only is their roster in a tough spot, but they play in the toughest division in football. Maybe Brissett moves the needle for them to compete a little bit more, or maybe he doesn’t.
Maybe Brissett’s value to the team is to mentor the young stars of Marvin Harrison Jr., Jeremiyah Love, and quaterback Carson Beck. While doing so, steering the rest of the young roster through what will inevitably be a very hard season.
With all of that said, I think Browns fans everywhere would love to entertain the idea of Jacoby Brissett coming back and being this team’s quarterback. He would by far and away give this iteration of the Browns’ roster the best chance to win and do all of the other necessary leadership things that this team needs.
Brissett is entering his 11th season, and truthfully, his stats have been pretty solid. He is a 61.9% completion QB that has compiled 14,766 yards for 76 touchdowns and just 32 interceptions. In his one season in Cleveland, he had a 4-7 record in 2022 but did ultimately help pave the way for a fun 2023 season.
Brissett officially won the weirdest contract holdout you will ever see, but congrats to him. Any chance you have the opportunity to make a team pay up for you to lead a rebuild, you do it. Brissett did, and he is being paid handsomely in return.
This article originally appeared on Browns Wire: Former Cleveland QB Jacoby Brissett executes holdout, gets major raise
Reporting by Anthony Moeglin, Browns Wire / Browns Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Anthony Moeglin, Browns Wire | USA TODAY Network
