In the era of sports news where the biggest reporters all get their information from and have to give credit to the agents, the first reports on deals are often not the real story. The structure of a contract, as noted in our piece on DT Vita Vea, is often setup to make the agents look good and make the player feel good about how much money they are getting, even if they are unlikely to see all of it.
While we wait for the details on the two-year contract extension CB Denzel Ward signed with the Cleveland Browns, it is notable that both Adam Schefter and Ian Rapoport both noted that Ward’s deal “makes him the highest-paid DB in NFL history for the second time in his career.” The only difference between those parts of the reports is that Schefter’s includes the hyphen and Rapoport’s does not.
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Given that Ward’s extension is reportedly for two years and $62.2 million, his yearly average on the extension would just barely clear the deal signed by CB Trent McDuffie this offseason. On his previous deal, Ward’s yearly average was $20.1 million, which at the time was the highest in the NFL. Adding the extension to his contract, instead of a new deal, jumps the total value of the contract well over $160 million for seven years.
While we wait for the details to confirm the above reports, the Top 10 cornerback contracts, based on annual value, before Ward’s extension, were as follows:
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Rams Trent McDuffie – $31 million
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Falcons AJ Terrell – $20.5
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Ravens Marlon Humphrey – $19.5
Once all the contract details are released, we will be able to see in what ways Ward is “the highest paid DB in NFL history for the second time in his career,” as well as all the salary cap implications.
