Under owner Jimmy Haslam, the Browns’ solution has been to throw money at problems. Most recently, they tossed money at Myles Garrett to make him happy after he requested a trade. Years prior, however, was the most damning and damaging incident of such a practice. In 2022, in trading for QB Deshaun Watson, the Browns gave him a five-year, fully-guaranteed $230 million contract.
They still have two years left on that deal, and no way to get out of it. Haslam recently admitted basically that the Browns made a horrible mistake in trading for Watson—better late than never.