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.
