03-20-2022, 10:16 AM
(03-20-2022, 01:37 AM)Murdock2420 Wrote: The worst part isn't even the trade.
The worst part is the sleezy way they worked the contract so that when Watson gets suspended for his predatory moves, he loses 1 million of the 220.
How could anyone be okay with that move by the franchise? I mean...that is just horrible.
It will be interesting to see how the contract is structured and the impact on the salary cap.
If lowering his guaranteed pay significantly lowers the 2022 cap hit, it will make years 2-5 even more unbearable than they already are.
As it stands he's going to average $46M a year against the cap over the life of the contract (thats 22% of the 2022 cap). If this stunt reduces that significantly this year, that's going to push his cap hit well over $50M/year going forward. Possibly close to $60M/year.
Browns fans are saying that the "cap is going to go up." But the rate of increase in his cap hit could easily outpace the overall rate of increase, meaning that he's going to take up an ever increasing percent of the overall pie, leaving less for others who are going to want a raise.
Short term and on paper, this is a great move for the Browns. But this is guaranteed to wreck them long term. If they win a SB in the next 2 or 3 years, then maybe it's worth it. If they don't....oh boy this is going to go down as one of their worst moves.
Their window is narrow. And add to that they have to compete against a resurgent Bengals team with Joe Burrow on a rookie contract AND they aren't going to have Watson for a significant portion of one of those three years. This may not hurt in 2022 or 2023, but its going to be a disaster in 2024 and beyond.
