CLEVELAND- The Browns are finally getting serious about making sure their starting quarterback has a star receiver to throw to for multiple years. Cleveland signed Jarvis Landry to a five-year deal worth up to $75 million with bonus incentives, after about one month after acquiring him in a trade. He is guaranteed to earn $47 over the next five years. Landry could earn up to $15 million per year.
Some fans and reporters may try to discredit the Browns, saying they overpaid by an exorbitant amount of money. Is that conclusion really accurate? The Browns rarely have receivers of this caliber. Josh Gordon is a notable rare exceptions to that as was Terrelle Pryor. However, when a team goes 0-16, the asking price goes up, period. This team still has the nasty reputation for being run by a bunch of misfits like the baseball staff from the last two seasons. If Landry is to endure hell, he would be right to ask for more money other than his obvious value as a player. However, this team no longer has the look of a team destined to be the league’s punching bag. General Manager John Dorsey and the entire organization scored a huge win today. Fans and reporters can argue that point until the season starts. However, it is refreshing that the Browns are finally taking winning seriously. Landry’s extension is practically a warning shot to the rest of the league that signals the Browns are aiming to return to the playoffs for the first time since losing to the Steelers in 2003 which was Ben Roethlisberger’s rookie year. After the Browns almost made the playoffs in 2007, the team endured losing seasons. The best season since then was in when the Browns finished 7-9 in 2014.
With all of the losses, it is truly difficult to say the Browns overpaid Landry. After all, who would dare accuse the Pittsburgh Steelers if they paid Antonio Brown this money? Perhaps the Chiefs will offer this kind of deal to Tyreek Hill in the future. Perhaps the real argument is receivers should be paid less than this as there are other positions than make a winning team. Even so, having a core of star receivers may be the difference between the Browns making the playoffs in the next three seasons or continuing to be the team stuck in the basement of the AFC North. It’s also important to remember that Landry recorded 400 receptions for 4,038 yards 22 touchdowns in his four-year NFL career.