HUGE BLOW: Browns in Danger of Losing KEY Star and Fan Favourite after latest board announcement

Over the next few months, the Cleveland Browns will make some critical contract decisions, one of which includes safety Grant Delpit.

Through seven games, Delpit has been the breakout star on a powerful Browns defense. The timing couldn’t be better for the 25-year-old defender, who is having his greatest season during his contract year. Cleveland’s timing is more problematic, as the team’s front management tries to work around quarterback Deshaun Watson’s $64 million salary cap hit over the next three seasons.

In total, 18 Browns players will be available for free agency in some capacity in March 2024. Cleveland may try to extend some of them before having to compete with the NFL vultures that circle overhead of loaded rosters each spring. On Wednesday, November 1, Matt Wilson of SB Nation’s Dawgs By Nature argued that Delpit should be at the top of the list of players the Browns must pay to keep them from leaving in free agency.

“[Delpit] has been flourishing so far in 2023 under the guidance of defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz,” Wilson said in a statement. “If he stays on his current path, he’ll undoubtedly be on this year’s Pro Bowl roster.” Though it will be difficult for the Browns to afford Delpit, they must at least attempt to make it work. He’s the type of player for whom teams can usually ‘find’ money.”

To keep Grant Delpit, the Browns may need to invest up to $50 million.

Delpit, a second-round pick in 2020 (44th overall), is in the final year of his four-year, $7.5 million rookie contract. Based on Over The Cap (OTC) calculations, his current yearly valuation, which can also be viewed as his value each season on a prospective contract, is $12.4 million.

Delpit is certain to pursue a new four-year contract, either with the Browns in the coming months or with any number of interested teams once his unrestricted free agency begins. At OTC’s estimate, Delpit represents an approximately $50 million investment, with roughly half of it completely guaranteed, based on the structure of current contracts for other top safety across the NFL.

While that may appear to be a large sum, Delpit’s annual compensation under that contract would place him as the league’s 12th highest-paid player at his position. With a strong safety class set to hit free agency in 2024, that figure might be reduced by the start of following season.