Browns Garrett Agree to Record Deal

The Browns showed him the money in an historic way.

The Cleveland Browns have put an end to 2023 NFL Defensive Player of the Year Myles Garrett’s trade request with a contract extension that will average $40 million a year, making him the league’s highest-paid non-quarterback. That information is according to CBS Sports NFL insider Jonathan Jones’ report on Sunday.

Garrett’s agent, Nicole Lynn of Klutch Sports, and Browns general manager Andrew Berry finalized the deal Sunday, according to sources, ending a contentious standoff that has taken on a live of its own in the media and started in February when Garrett requested a trade out of Cleveland.

This deal comes just four days after the Las Vegas Raiders made their star edge rusher Maxx Crosby the league’s highest-paid non-QB with a three-year, $106.5 extension that averaged $35.5 million a year with $91 million guaranteed. The full parameters of Garrett’s deal are four years, which run his commitment with the Browns to six total years, with $122.8 million guaranteed for a total value of $204.8 million and $100 million in cold, hard cash over the first three years, according to NFL Media. Garrett’s new agreement with the Browns, who selected him first overall in the 2017 NFL Draft out of Texas A&M, also is equipped with a no-trade clause.

The 29-year-old’s 102.5 career sacks are the third-most before the age of 30 in NFL history, trailing only two Hall of Famers: Reggie White’s 108.0 and Jared Allen’s 105.0. He is also the first person ever with 14 or more sacks in four consecutive seasons, a streak that is currently active. There is no one who deserves this deal more than him. Garrett earned the new deal after pacing the NFL in tackles for loss (24) while co-leading the league in quarterback pressures (83).

His 14.0 sacks in 2024 were the second-most in the NFL behind only AFC North rival Trey Hendrickson’s 17.5. Garrett’s new deal keeps a franchise cornerstone in Cleveland, Northeast Ohio for the next six years and drives up the market for the likes of Hendrickson and Micah Parsons.