It took some give and take for the Carolina Panthers and Cleveland Browns to finally reach a trade for Baker Mayfield. And in the end, it even took a little give from the quarterback himself.
On Wednesday afternoon, the Panthers acquired themselves a new passer for a pretty decent price. In fact, it wasn’t much of a price at all considering the circumstances.
As far as what’s headed back the other way, the Browns—as first reported by NFL Network insiders Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero—will receive a conditional 2024 fifth-round pick. That compensation, according to Yahoo Sports’ Charles Robinson, could turn into a fourth-round selection if Mayfield hits the benchmarks on his reworked contract.
Mayfield’s deal, which runs through the upcoming 2022 campaign, is worth a total of $18.8 million. Of that total, the Browns have agreed to pay $10.5 million with the Panthers footing just $5 million of his base salary. The remaining $3.5 million, as agreed upon by Baker himself, has been trimmed per Mike Garofolo.
He can, however, earn back that $3.5 million if those aforementioned incentives—whatever they may be—are reached.
