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Inglewood, CA, Sunday, November 30, 2025 - Los Angeles Chargers guard Zion Johnson (77) runs to the field with coach Jim Harbaugh to play the Las Vegas Raiders at SoFi Stadium. (Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
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.
| Year | Base Salary | Signing Bonus | Option Bonus | Option Bonus | Roster Bonus | Per Game | Workout Bonus | Total Cap Hit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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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