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Myles Garrett news | Browns agree to record NFL contract extension with star, avoid trade
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- Myles Garrett news | Browns agree to record NFL contract extension with star, avoid trade
Myles Garrett really will likely be heading from Cleveland to Canton after all.
The Browns and their star defensive end ended their month-plus standoff by coming to terms on a record, four-year contract extension, the team officially announced Sunday.
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The new deal will keep Garrett in Cleveland through the 2030 season — when he'll be 35 years old — with $123 million in guarantees, a league source confirmed for the Beacon Journal. He becomes the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history, with a $40 million average annual value on the deal.
The deal also includes a no-trade clause, a league source confirmed for the Beacon Journal.
Thus ends what had appeared to be a contentious standoff between team and star player that started the week of the Super Bowl when Garrett went public with a trade demand. The Browns , meanwhile, had remained steadfast in not wanting to deal him.
The public posturing had reached a new level Friday, when it came out that Garrett had requested a meeting with owner Jimmy Haslam, who declined the meeting and directed him to speak to general manager Andrew Berry .
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That story emerged the same week defensive end Maxx Crosby had appeared to re-set the non-quarterback market with a three-year extension with the Las Vegas Raiders that averaged $35.5 million a year. However, on Friday night, the Browns and Garrett's agent, Klutch Sports' Nicole Lynn, began talking again, which led to Sunday's bombshell.
Both sides appeared to be firmly dug into their positions over the last two weeks. Berry made it clear at the NFL scouting combine the Browns weren't listening to offers from contenders trying to acquire Garrett.
"So Myles, as you guys have all heard me say, he's a huge part of our organization, really good person, he's an awesome player," Berry said on Feb. 25. "Understand the trade request and everything, but our stance really has not changed. We can't imagine a situation where not having Myles as a part of the organization is best for the Browns."
Garrett's camp, meanwhile, made it clear they weren't interested in talking contract extensions. In the end, however, the kind of money the Browns ultimately offered was too much to pass up.
Browns defensive end Myles Garrett rushes Lions quarterback Tim Boyle during the second quarter on Sunday, Nov. 21, 2021 in Cleveland.
Garrett, 29, opened the door to the trade demand in December. Two days before the Browns played a Week 15 game at the Cincinnati Bengals , he made clear that he wasn't happy with the direction of the team during its 3-14 season.
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At that point, Garrett made clear he wanted to see what Berry and the organization had planned to accelerate a return to playoff contention. If that wasn't good enough, then he was open to going somewhere else.
"I mean, it's a possibility, but I want to be a Cleveland Brown," Garrett said on Dec. 20 when asked if he could see himself not with the Browns. "I want to play here, play my career here. But if we choose to do a rebuild and it's two, three, four years out, I want be able to compete and play at a high level, play meaningful games and be playing past January."
Berry, not once but twice between the end of the season and the end of January, said he intended for Garrett's career to have "a direct path from Cleveland to Canton." That line seemed like it may have come back to haunt him on Feb. 3 when the defensive end went public with his trade demand.
In Garrett's statement he specifically said, "The goal was never to go from Cleveland to Canton , it has always been to compete for and win a Super Bowl." That point he reiterated on a Radio Row during the week of the Super Bowl in New Orleans , making appearance after appearance on various shows, including an appearance on Super Bowl Sunday on ESPN's "Sunday NFL Countdown."
"It's never been about the Hall of Fame for me," Garrett said on "The Rich Eisen Show" on Feb. 5 . "It's not about money or records. You're remembered for winning, bringing a trophy back home to your city, whichever city that is. That's how you're remembered in your community, by your peers, your teammates, your friends, all of that. We want to play the game, we want to do things to be remembered."
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All of that came after a 2024 season in which he rewrote NFL history for sacks, which became an official stat in 1982. He became the first player to post at least 14 sacks in four consecutive seasons when he sacked Miami Dolphins QB Tyler Huntley in Week 17, which came after he had joined Hall of Famer Lawrence Taylor as the only players to post at least 12 sacks in five consecutive seasons the week before.
The same time he joined Taylor in that exclusive club, Garrett also became the youngest player to join the 100-sack club with a sack of Cincinnati Bengals QB Joe Burrow . The six-time Pro Bowler and four-time first-team All-Pro has 102.5 career sacks.
Garrett finished second in the league in sacks with 14. Bengals defensive end Trey Hendrickson led with 17.5 sacks.
An extension always seemed the most likely end result of the situation, even with all of the saber-rattling, because it was the one that made the most financial sense. Trading Garrett before June 1 would have been a $36 million salary cap hit for the Browns, while they could have spread it out between $14 million this year and $25 million next year if they dealt him after June 1.
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Garrett still had two years remaining on the current five-year extension on which he was playing. Had he played out the contract and tried free agency after the 2026 season, the Browns could've franchise tagged him in both 2027 and 2028.
Now, all of that is water under the bridge as the two sides have come together on a contract that will have significant ramifications across the NFL.
Specifically, it will impact two situations most notably. There's the looming contract extension Dallas Cowboys outside linebacker Micah Parsons is due. There's also the continuing negotiations between the Cincinnati Bengals and wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase, whom Bengals general manager Duke Tobin said at the combine they intended on making the highest-paid non-quarterback in the game.
The Browns' in-state rival now knows where that bar stands. And it's $4.5 million per year higher than what it was just 24 hours ago.
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(This story has been updated with new information.)
Chris Easterling can be reached at ceasterling@thebeaconjournal.com. Read more about the Browns at www.beaconjournal.com/sports/browns. Follow him on X at @ceasterlingABJ
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Myles Garrett gets record contract extension with Browns
