What Myles Garrett’s record extension with Browns tells us about the NFL

Ben Arthur

NFL Reporter

Myles Garrett appeared to be dug in.

Ealy last month, he made his trade request public, saying that he wanted to be traded to a contender. His career goal, he claimed in a press release, was “never to go from Cleveland to Canton,” but rather “to compete and win a Super Bowl.” There were reports that he was not open to a contract extension. Earlier this week, he even wanted to meet with owner Jimmy Haslam in-person regarding his trade request, only to be declined.

Now, the public tension has seemingly evaporated instantaneously. Garrett and the Browns are dug in for the foreseeable future, agreeing on a four-year extension that keeps the superstar edge rusher in Cleveland through 2030, the team announced. The mega-deal is worth $160 million, including $123.5 million in guarantees, FOX Sports’ Jordan Schultz confirmed. At $40 million per year, Garrett is now the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history. Oh, and reports indicate that there’s a no-trade clause in the deal as well.

This situation between Garrett and the Browns, a sudden flip from acrimony to a renewal of vows, is just the latest reminder of this reality: Money solves most problems in the NFL.

Nothing about the circumstances that drove Garrett to making the trade request in the first place has changed. There’s been no infusion of talent through free agency or the draft to a team that finished 3-14 last season, tied for the worst record in the NFL. The Browns still have little cap space (prior to Garrett’s extension, they ranked 26th in effective cap space at $4.09 million, per OTC). They’re still on the hook for guaranteed money on Deshaun Watson’s disaster of a contract. They still don’t have their quarterback of the future.

But Garrett is now — at least for the time being — the highest-paid non-quarterback in the league by a wide margin. The second-highest, fellow edge rusher Maxx Crosby of the Las Vegas Raiders, just last week signed a deal that averages $35.5 million.

Garrett got a massive raise, and maybe that was the point all along. Sure, he would like to be on a contender. But $123 million in new guarantees is a nice consolation prize when your employer doesn’t succumb to your trade request.

The big picture

Now, the focus shifts to other extension-eligible megastars, who should benefit from Garrett’s deal.

The Cincinnati Bengals have already said they intend to make wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase the highest-paid non-quarterback in league history. But by waiting to get that done, the cost of the All-Pro wideout has continued to increase. In the past four days alone, two new benchmarks have been set for the Bengals to clear (Crosby’s new deal was agreed to Wednesday). The Bengals have said they also hope to extend fellow star Tee Higgins. Cincinnati’s efforts to keep both receivers around long-term had already appeared to come at a cost: All-Pro defensive end Trey Hendrickson, who also wants an extension, requested a trade after meeting with the team last week.

Like the Bengals, the Dallas Cowboys should feel a strong ripple effect of Garrett’s deal. Pass-rusher Micah Parsons, who has 52.5 sacks and four Pro Bowl nods in four seasons, is due a new contract. He should be aiming to top Garrett’s $40 million in average annual value, which means a bigger hit to owner Jerry Jones’ pocket book.

Just as money solves problems in the NFL, it creates them too.

Ben Arthur is an NFL reporter for FOX Sports. He previously worked for The Tennessean/USA TODAY Network, where he was the Titans beat writer for a year and a half. He covered the Seattle Seahawks for SeattlePI.com for three seasons (2018-20) prior to moving to Tennessee. You can follow Ben on X at @benyarthur.

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