3 biggest fully-guaranteed contracts in NFL history ft. Deshaun Watson
Deshaun Watson has finally decided, and he has chosen the Cleveland Browns. Reports dropped Friday afternoon that shocked the NFL world.
The quarterback is set to get a fully-guaranteed deal that shatters previous records in the league. So what is his contract, and where does it stand with the rest?
Biggest fully-guaranteed contracts in NFL history, including the new Deshaun Watson deal
#1 - Deshaun Watson
We start with the quarterback because of his insane new deal. He is reportedly getting $230 million fully guaranteed. That is an amount previously unheard of.
Every dollar of Deshaun Watson’s new five-year, $230 million deal is guaranteed, per sources, setting a new record for the highest guarantee given to an NFL player. @Browns and Watson’s agent @DavidMulugheta combine to make history.
The guaranteed money, in general, is a new NFL record. But considering he will get every dollar of the listed amount is historic. NFL contracts often involve big numbers, but the guarantee is what to look at. In this case, the recorded value is accurate regarding how much he will earn.
The Browns went all-in on the signal-caller and wanted to do whatever it took to convince him to waive his no-trade clause and choose Cleveland. That plan worked, and now the team is welcoming him as the highest-paid player in league history.
#2 - Aaron Rodgers
Aaron Rodgers just signed a new deal that will pay him roughly $150.7 million in guaranteed money. That alone was a new record as he seemed to reset the quarterback market.
While he did indeed reset it, the NFL has taken it to a whole new level. The fascinating thing is that Rodgers may have asked for even more money if he waited a bit longer to get his deal done. Yet $150 million guaranteed is not an amount for him to be upset about.
On first read of #Packers QB Aaron Rodgers' new contract, he gets:
$42 million in 2022
$59.515M in 2023
$49.3M in 2024
So that's $150.815M over the next three years, and the first two are fully guaranteed at signing.
The only disadvantage is that this is likely the final deal of his career, so he won't be able to take advantage of the new market rising by the minute.
#3 - Josh Allen
Josh Allen is in a great position at the moment. His recent six-year deal pays him $150 million guaranteed. Rodgers bumped up that value, while Watson blew it completely.
Yet Allen's deal is fantastic because he should be in line for another once it expires. And now that $230 million guaranteed is the new standard, Allen could go well over that when it is time for another deal with the Buffalo Bills. Add a Super Bowl title or two and a guarantee may start approaching the $300 million range.
The fact Allen set the bar at $150 million, only to be surpassed by Watson at $230 million, proves the NFL is booming, and guaranteed contracts are only going to keep getting bigger.