Five-time Pro Bowl cornerback Denzel Ward and the Cleveland Browns have agreed on a two-year, $62.2 million contract extension that includes $52.3 million guaranteed, ESPN and NFL Network reported on Tuesday.
Ward, 29, had two years left on a five-year, $100.5 million contract extension signed in 2022, though it includes no further guaranteed money.
The Browns’ longest-tenured player, Ward will earn $31.1 million annually, making him the highest-paid defensive back in league history for the second time in his career.
His annual average salary, per ESPN, edges Ward ahead of Los Angeles Rams cornerback Trent McDuffie, ($31 million), who was acquired in March from the Kansas City Chiefs and signed a four-year, $124 million extension. They are followed by the Indianapolis Colts’ Sauce Gardner ($30.1 million), the Houston Texans’ Derek Stingley Jr. ($30 million) and the Carolina Panthers’ Jaycee Horn ($25 million), per ESPN.
A native of Macedonia, Ohio, Ward was the fourth overall pick of the 2018 NFL Draft. The Ohio State product has 361 career tackles, 18 interceptions — including two returned for touchdowns — 104 passes defended, four forced fumbles and six fumble recoveries in 110 regular-season games (107 starts) for the Browns. Two of those recovered fumbles turned into touchdowns.
He was selected to the Pro Bowl in 2018, 2021, 2023, 2024 and 2025.
–Field Level Media
