How Much Will Jameis Winston Really Make From His One-Year Deal With Browns?

The Browns prioritized landing a reliable backup for star quarterback Deshaun Watson and settled on former No. 1 overall pick Jameis Winston, inking a one-year deal with the veteran signal caller. Winston can earn up to $8.7 million with incentives attached to the contract.

Browns general manager Andrew Berry made it known that backup quarterback is a position the franchise values immensely each season.

So when the league's oxymoronic "legal tampering" window opened earlier in the week, Berry was quick to put Jimmy and Dee Haslam's money where his mouth was. On Tuesday, Cleveland came to terms on an agreements with former No. 1 overall pick Jameis Winston to join the Browns as the team's primary backup. Reports indicate that the deal is for one-year and up to $8.7 million. 

A key from the working of the contract's details is the phrase "up to," which is always a hint that the deal is riddled with incentives that can escalate to that number if met. Further details emerged regarding Winston's deal overnight and on Wednesday morning revealing that the contract is really a one-year, $4 million deal, with $4.7 million the incentives tacked on. 

As MMQB's Albert Breer laid out, Winston is due to make a fully guaranteed base salary of $1.21 million in 2024, while the other $2.79 million comes in the form of a signing bonus that Winston will earn as soon as the deal is consummated around 4 p.m. Wednesday.

Browns QB Jameis Winston's one-year, $4 million deal.

• $2.79 million signing bonus.
• $1.21 million base, fully guaranteed.
• Up to $4.7 million in incentives.

— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) March 13, 2024

It's worth noting that incentives don't count against against a team's salary cap going into the league year in which they are attributed. Team's are able to list incentive money as "not likely to be earned" in order to keep the payments off the books during the season. Any Incentives that end up being earned are then charged to the team at the end of the season and paid out in February or March.

If Winston does go on to earn all of his incentives he end up making more than former Browns backup Jacoby Brissett, who signed a one-year, $8 million deal with New England yesterday. Brissett's deal really set the market for backup quarterbacks on Tuesday.

For now at least, Cleveland is set to pay Winston $4 million to be its backup in 2024.