After the Cleveland Browns agreed to trade Baker Mayfield to the Carolina Panthers earlier this week, one of the most surprising details about the deal was that the former No. 1 overall pick took a pay cut to help that trade goo through.
As a part of the trade’s stipulations, the Browns will continue to pay $10.5 million of Mayfield’s previously $18.9 million salary, while the Panthers will pay just $5.5 million.
While Mayfield agreed to take about a $3.5 million pay cut, the Pantehrs wanted him to take more.
According to The Athletic, the Panthers brass spoke with Mayfield and his representation around minicamp, and Carolina reportedly asked the Oklahoma product to take a pay cut of more than $7 million.
Mayfield’s departure from Cleveland comes more than three months after he first requested a trade from the Browns, which the team initially denied because they had just struck out with Deshaun Watson. However, they would go back to the drawing board and acquire Watson in a blockbuster trade with the Houston Texans.
The Browns made their former quarterback available, with the Panthers being the team most consistently linked as a suitor for the 2017 Heisman Trophy winner.
Mayfield now has the chance to revive his career, given he wins the starting job that won’t just be handed to him.
