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Salary cap: OL Zion Johnson’s contract with the Cleveland Browns

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The Cleveland Browns signed OL **Zion Johnson** to a 3-year, $49.5 million deal early in the free agency period, but now it’s time to look at a breakdown of his year-by-year contract details.

2026

$1,215,000

$3,400,000

$0

$0

$0

$510,000

$100,000

$5,225,000

2027

$1,260,000

$3,400,000

$2,461,000

$0

$0

$510,000

$100,000

$7,731,000

2028

$1,305,000

$3,400,000

$2,461,000

$2,317,000

$3,000,000

$510,000

$100,000

$13,093,000

2029

$0

$3,400,000

$2,461,000

$2,317,000

$0

$0

$0

$23,451,000

2030

$0

$3,400,000

$2,461,000

$2,317,000

$0

$0

$0

$0

2031

$0

$0

$2,461,000

$2,317,000

$0

$0

$0

$0

2032

$0

$0

$0

$2,317,000

$0

$0

$0

$0

Total

$3,780,000

$17,000,000

$12,305,000

$11,585,000

$3,000,000

$1,530,000

$300,000

$49,500,000

* There is a reported $32.29 million in guaranteed money. That appears to consist of his:

* Base salaries in 2026 and 2027, which are $1.25 million and $1.26 million.

* $17 million signing bonus, which is spread out over 5 years.

* $12.305 million option bonus, which hits in 2027 and gets spread out over 5 years.

* $510,000 per game roster bonuses ($30,000 per game) this year.

* $100,000 workout bonus this year.

* His base salary in 2028 would be $1.305 million, but is not guaranteed. He also has another $11.585 million option bonus due in 2028 that would be spread over five years (but shortened because 2029 is a void year). There is also a $3 million roster bonus due on the third day of the 2028 league year.

* Like most of **Andrew Berry’s** contracts these days, the contract would void in 2029, meaning if he was on the team for all three years, those cap hits would carry $23.451 million in dead cap space in 2029.

* If the Browns didn’t want to pay Johnson in the final year of his contract, they would still have $20.044 million counting against the cap in dead cap space in 2028.

* There are also some incentives built into the deal:

* $750,000 in All-Pro and playoff incentives in 2027 and 2028, as well as $750,000 in base salary escalators in 2028. The exact numbers of the incentives aren’t clear.

We’ve gotten so used to how Berry structures his multi-year contracts. I pulled up a copy of **Jerry Jeudy’s** deal from a couple years ago, and even though that one was for four years, the structure of the dollar amounts, signing bonus, and option bonuses are darn-near identical.

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