Dawgs By Nature
Smith may be gone from the Browns, but he’s not gone from their books.
The Cleveland Browns’ big move at the trade deadline was shipping DE Za’Darius Smith to the Detroit Lions in exchange for a couple of draft picks. However, that does not mean that Smith is off the Browns’ books as far as cap space goes, including when GM Andrew Berry had given Smith a new contract this offseason.
Back when we broke down that contract, we noted how Smith was receiving $18.258 million in a signing bonus that would have been spread out over a few void years too. That signing bonus money is the amount that stays with the Browns. However, the 2024 signing bonus amount ($4.025 million) is already accounted for this year. The remaining amount of the signing bonus — $14.233 million — will count as dead cap space for the Browns in 2025.
Detroit gets the rest of his contract, including half of his base salary for 2024 (which amounts to $605,000 being added to their books). Therefore, the Browns do get a small cap savings this year in that regard. Detroit will also have to make decisions on Smith’s $2 million roster bonus in 2025, as well as the $6.99 option bonus that would be due to him at the same time. Those are the amounts that are no longer Cleveland’s business.
In hindsight, re-signing Smith wasn’t worth it. Obviously, he was re-signed because everyone believed the Browns would be a playoff contender again. Now, they’ve salvaged a fifth- and sixth-round pick for his value, which might be used to eventually stack up for something like a fourth-round pick.
