Quote:
Originally Posted by rfaulk34
Signing bonus is an up front payment that the team is allowed to spread over a maximum of 5 years for "cap reasons". It's basically considered part of the contract that you give at the time of signing.
Guaranteed money is money that you may potentally pay for little or no production, ala Deshaun Watson. The Browns gave gotten nearly nothing for all that money. That's exactly the type of thing that gives the Bengals FO hives. They simply do not want to take that chance, like other teams readily do.
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The signing bonus isn't paid in installments. They prorate the bonus over the length of the contract for the purposes of figuring the cap allocation.
A signing bonus, by definition, is paid when the player signs their contract. The instant they sign the contract, that signing bonus is paid to them in full. Teams can use roster bonuses to move bonuses to future years but signing bonuses are signing bonuses.
The Browns probably can't pay out that much cash all at once without taking out a damn loan. We could be talking close to a half billion dollars for these 3 players.