Breakdown of WR Jerry Jeudy’s contract extension with the Browns

The Browns’ new wide receiver first received a restructured contract, then got an extension, within a week.

While our staff analyzes the Cleveland Browns’ decision to trade for WR Jerry Jeudy, I’m focusing on how his contract with the team looks after being restructured and extended, according to Over the Cap.

• First, we need to remember what the Browns acquired. The Denver Broncos exercised the fifth-year option on Jeudy, which means his base salary in 2024 was set to be $12.987 million in guaranteed money. When Cleveland acquired Jeudy, they understood that they were definitely on the hook for that.
• Before extending him, GM Andrew Berry restructured Jeudy’s contract. He took that $12.987 million, and only gave him the minimum salary for a fifth-year player as a base salary ($1.125 million), and converted the rest of it to a signing bonus that spanned over five years ($2.3724 million per year). Those final four years would have been void years.
• Then came the contract extension itself, which was a 3-year extension worth $52.5 million. That includes $6.013 million in a signing bonus, which is spread out over five years ($1.2026 million). If you combine both signing bonuses ($2.3724 million + $1.2026 million), then that’s why the signing bonus column equals $3.575 million per year for the first five years (the last of which is a void year).
• Jeudy’s base salary from 2025-2027 is $1.5 million per year. His base salary in 2024 and 2025 are guaranteed.
• In 2025, Jeudy is due a $14.5 million option bonus, which is guaranteed. That will be spread over five years.
• In 2026, Jeudy is due a $6 million option bonus, which is guaranteed. That will be spread over five years.
• In 2027, Jeudy is due a $21.487 million option bonus, which is not guaranteed. That will be spread over five years.
• It was reported that Jeudy has $41 million guaranteed, although only $28.01 million of that is new guarantees (the rest was already guaranteed from his Broncos’ contract). The guaranteed money are his base salaries in 2024 and 2025, his signing bonus, and his 2025 and 2026 option bonuses.
• What happens if Jeudy plays all four years of his deal, and no restructure is done? Then, when his contract voids in 2028, it would be a $30.164 million dead cap hit in 2028, as seen in the table below. If the Browns plan to keep him for 2027, that likely means that he is playing well, and they would try to extend his contract a few more years to kick that money further down the road.