Age: 27
Free Agency: 2028 (Void)
Accrued Seasons: 7
- Height: 5'10"
- Weight: 191
- College: Ohio State
- Entry: 2018 Draft, Round 1, #4 overall (Browns)
- 2024 Salary Cap Charge: $12,174,212 (4.20% of cap)
- 2024 Cash Payout: $15,853,412 (5.47% of spending)
- 2024 Cash to Cap Ratio: 1.30
- Contract Value: $100,500,000 ($20,100,000 APY)
- Fully Guaranteed Money: $44,500,000
- Contract Ranking: 5/284 at CB
Current Contract
(Extension, signed 2022)
(📝: indicates contract trigger occuring during that year)| Year | Age | Base Salary | Prorated Bonus | Roster Bonus | Guaranteed Salary | Cap Number | Cap % | Dead Money & Cap Savings | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Signing | Option | Regular | Per Game | |||||||||||
| 2022 | 25 | $1,035,000 | $4,000,000 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $1,035,000 | $5,035,000 | 2.3% | |||||
| 2023
March 17: $14.3 million of 2024 salary is guaranteed
| 26 | $4,041,000 | $4,000,000 | $3,680,000 | $0 | $600,000 | $4,041,000 | $12,215,118 | 4.9% | |||||
| 2024
March 16: $12.45 million of 2025 salary is guaranteed
| 27 | $1,125,000 | $6,839,800 | $3,680,000 | $0 | $600,000 | $1,125,000 | $12,174,212 | 4.2% | |||||
| 2025 | 28 | $13,476,000 | $6,839,800 | $3,680,000 | $0 | $600,000 | $12,450,000 | $24,525,212 | 7.8% | |||||
| 2026
March 20: Roster bonus due
| 29 | $16,900,000 | $6,839,800 | $3,680,000 | $2,500,000 | $600,000 | $0 | $30,519,800 | 10.5% | |||||
| 2027
March 20: Roster bonus due
| 30 | $17,400,000 | $2,839,800 | $3,680,000 | $2,500,000 | $600,000 | $0 | $27,019,800 | 8.6% | |||||
| 2028
February 20: Contract voids
| 31 | Void | $2,839,800 | $0 | Void | Void | Void | $2,839,800 | -- | |||||
| Total | $53,977,000 | $34,199,000 | $18,400,000 | $5,000,000 | $3,000,000 | $18,651,000 | $114,328,942 | |||||||
Contract Notes
Denzel Ward signed a five year extension worth $100.5 million with the Browns on April 18, 2022. Contract details come via PFT. Ward received $71.25 million in guarantees of which $44.5 million are fully guaranteed at signing. Ward received a $20 million signing bonus and will receive an $18.4 million option bonus in 2023. His 2022 and 2023 salaries are fully guaranteed and $1.024 million of his 2024 salary is also fully guaranteed. If on the roster on the 3rd day of the 2023 league year the balance of his 2024 salary is guaranteed. $12.45 million of his 2025 salary will be guaranteed on the 3rd day of the 2024 league year. There are roster bonuses due on the 3rd day of the 2026 and 2027 league year.
On February 28, 2024 the Browns converted $14.199 million of Ward's base salary to signing bonus, and added one void year for salary cap purposes to save $11.359 million per Tom Pelissero report.
Cash Flows
| 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 | 2027 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cash Due | $6,959,000 | $23,041,000 | $15,924,000 | $14,076,000 | $20,000,000 | $20,500,000 |
| Running Cash | $6,959,000 | $30,000,000 | $45,924,000 | $60,000,000 | $80,000,000 | $100,500,000 |
Career Earnings: $89,248,887
Career APY: $12,749,841
Contract History
| Team | Contract Type | Status | Year Signed | Yrs | Total | APY | Guarantees | Amount Earned | % Earned | Effective APY |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Browns | Drafted | Extended | 2018 | 4 | $29,165,356 | $7,291,339 | $29,165,356 | $29,425,357 | 100.9% | $7,356,339 |
| Browns | Extension | Active | 2022 | 5 | $100,500,000 | $20,100,000 | $44,500,000 | $59,823,530 | 59.5% | $19,941,177 |
Earnings By Team
| Team | Yrs | Salary | APY | Paid on Cap | % Paid on Cap | Paid as Dead Money | % Paid as Dead Money |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Browns | 7 | $89,248,887 | $12,749,841 | $58,849,686 | 0.0% | $0 | 0.0% |
Season History
| Year | Team | Base Salary | Prorated Bonus | Option Bonus | Roster Bonus | Per Game Roster Bonus | Guaranteed Salary | Cap Number | Cap % | Cash Paid | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Browns | $480,000 | $4,822,792 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $480,000 | $5,302,792 | 2.2% | $19,771,169 | ||
| 2019 | Browns | $570,000 | $4,822,792 | $0 | $1,298,356 | $0 | $1,805,698 | $6,628,490 | 2.7% | $1,805,698 | ||
| 2020 | Browns | $750,000 | $4,822,792 | $0 | $2,471,396 | $0 | $3,131,396 | $8,044,188 | 3.5% | $3,221,396 | ||
| 2021 | Browns | $920,000 | $4,822,792 | $0 | $3,707,094 | $0 | $4,457,094 | $9,449,886 | 4.5% | $4,627,094 | ||
| 2022 | Browns | $1,035,000 | $4,000,000 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $1,035,000 | $5,035,000 | 2.3% | $21,035,000 | ||
| 2023 | Browns | $4,041,000 | $4,000,000 | $3,680,000 | $0 | $600,000 | $4,041,000 | $12,215,118 | 4.9% | $22,935,118 | ||
| 2024 | Browns | $1,125,000 | $6,839,800 | $3,680,000 | $0 | $600,000 | $1,125,000 | $12,174,212 | 4.2% | $15,853,412 | ||
| 2025 | Browns | $13,476,000 | $6,839,800 | $3,680,000 | $0 | $600,000 | $12,450,000 | $24,525,212 | 7.8% | $14,076,000 | ||
| 2026 | Browns | $16,900,000 | $6,839,800 | $3,680,000 | $2,500,000 | $600,000 | $0 | $30,519,800 | 10.5% | $20,000,000 | ||
| 2027 | Browns | $17,400,000 | $2,839,800 | $3,680,000 | $2,500,000 | $600,000 | $0 | $27,019,800 | 8.6% | $20,500,000 | ||
| 2028 | Browns | $1,390,000 | $2,839,800 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $2,839,800 | -- | $0 | ||
| Total | $58,087,000 | $53,490,168 | $18,400,000 | $12,476,846 | $3,000,000 | $28,525,188 | $143,754,298 | $143,824,887 | ||||
Statistics
| Year | Games Played | Games Inactive | Snaps | Tackles | Negative Plays | Interceptions | Fumbles | TD | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Injured | Healthy | Defense | Special | Solo | Assist | Sacks | Yards | TFL | QB Hits | Pass Def. | INT | Yards | Forced | Rec. | Yards | |||
| 2018 | 13 | 3 | 0 | 71.4% | 11.6% | 41 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 11 | 3 | 26 | 1 | 2 | 29 | 0 |
| 2019 | 12 | 4 | 0 | 70.5% | 12.8% | 38 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 11 | 2 | 61 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 1 |
| 2020 | 12 | 3 | 0 | 71.9% | 12.6% | 38 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 18 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2021 | 15 | 1 | 0 | 76.4% | 11.5% | 34 | 9 | 0.5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2022 | 14 | 2 | 1 | 68.7% | 11.7% | 42 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 15 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 2023 | 13 | 2 | 1 | 58.6% | 6.1% | 30 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2024 | 16 | 0 | 1 | 70.0% | 8.3% | 41 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 19 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Valuation Diamond
The diamond is a scatterplot graph that visualizes the relation of the player's APY (in green) and performance (in blue, as measured by OTC's Valuations) to the rest of the league at his position. To understand how to read the diamond, read this explainer.
| OTC Valuation | APY | |
|---|---|---|
| Regular | $3,332,000 | $20,100,000 |
| Injury Adjusted | $3,332,000 | $20,100,000 |
Weekly Valuation Trends
The chart below illustrates the trend of the player's weekly OTC Valuations (in blue) from the most recent season, using APY (in green) and, if applicable, cash that is due to the player in the next season (in red) as benchmarks. Weeks not plotted indicate that the player was inactive or on a bye.
To see interactive and more in-depth use of OTC Valuation data, subscribe to OTC Premium.