Browns, Denzel Ward Agree to Five-Year Extension
The Cleveland Browns have come to an agreement, locking up cornerback Denzel Ward to a five-year deal worth $100.5 million according to multiple reports. The deal makes not only keeps Ward on the team for up to five more seasons after the 2022 season, but now means the Browns have a premium contract in their secondary.
Ward is coming off his first Pro Bowl season. Still a little over a week away from his 25th birthday, the life of the deal would last until he's 29. It also means that he and Greg Newsome, the team's first round pick in 2021, project to be the team's starting corners for the next four seasons.
The Browns have firmly established that Myles Garrett, the first overall pick of the 2017 NFL Draft and Ward, the fourth pick of the 2018 NFL Draft, are the tentpoles of the Browns defense. The longest tenured members of the defense, they have taken on leadership roles that are also reflected in their salaries.
$71.25 million of the deal is guaranteed according to Ward's agent, which is the most ever for a corner, edging out Jalen Ramsey's deal, which was worth $71.203 million. Ramsey's deal was for $100 million, half a million less than what Ward is getting now. Ramsey's deal was signed in September of 2020.
The Browns get this deal ahead of Jaire Alexander of the Green Bay Packers, who was selected 18th overall in 2018. Alexander earned All-Pro honors in 2020, so he is likely to get a more lucrative deal, which may have given Ward more leverage for additional money. This might work out for the Browns in a similar manner as when they paid Myles Garrett ahead of Joey Bosa of the San Diego Chargers, which saved the Browns $10 million over the life of the contract.
Ward, who was born in Northeast Ohio, attending Nordonia High School, went to Ohio State and was drafted by the Browns, has ensured that he will spend the prime of his career in the place where it all started.
