After days of negotiations, the Cleveland Browns and wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. finally reached a settlement Friday that will result in him now being placed on waivers Monday, after which he can be claimed Tuesday at 4 p.m. ET, league sources said.
The reworked contract is pending the NFLPA’s approval, per sources.
As part of the settlement of the reworked contract before it is terminated, the Browns agreed to remove the final two years of Beckham’s deal, meaning he now is scheduled to be a free agent after this season, sources said. Beckham, who turned 29 on Friday, had two years left on his deal.
Additionally, any team that claims Beckham would inherit $7.25 million of salary for the remainder of the season, sources said. The cost is considered high for a player who now will be in the last year of his contract.
The Browns had wanted to lower that salary number to entice other teams to claim him but agreed Friday to Beckham’s requests to leave the financial terms intact, making it less likely for him to be claimed.
While teams always have ways to create salary-cap space, as of Friday morning, only nine had over $7.25 million in cap space: the Jacksonville Jaguars, Philadelphia Eagles, Denver Broncos, Seattle Seahawks, Carolina Panthers, Los Angeles Chargers, Pittsburgh Steelers, Washington and Cincinnati Bengals.
And league sources now believe it is unlikely that Beckham will be claimed on waivers Tuesday, which means he then would become a free agent.
Source: www.espn.com