The Cleveland Browns have made Denzel Ward of Macedonia, Ohio the highest paid defensive back in the National Football League according to the Associated Press on Tuesday. He has signed a two-year contract worth $62.2 million.
Ward is set to have an average salary of $31.1 million per year. Remember, not all NFL contracts are guaranteed. However, Ward is guaranteed $52.3 million in his new contract.
The previously highest paid defensive back was Trent McDuffie of Westminster, California. McDuffie was traded from the Kansas City Chiefs to the Los Angeles Rams on March 11, and then signed a four-year contract worth $124 million with Los Angeles. In McDuffie’s contract, he is making $31 million, which is $100,000 less than Ward is making now.
It is also interesting that the Browns have made the decision to give a lot of money to Ward in the offseason at a time when they also traded star defensive end Myles Garrett of Arlington, Texas to the Rams. Garrett signed a four-year contract worth $204.8 million in 2025 with the Browns, making him the highest paid non-quarterback in the NFL.
Ward has spent the last eight seasons with the Browns since he was Cleveland’s first round pick, fourth overall in the 2018 NFL Draft out of Ohio State. In that time, Ward has been selected to the Pro Bowl five times (2018, 2021, 2023, 2024 and 2025). In 2025, Ward had 39 combined tackles (29 solo tackles and 10 assisted tackles), two tackles for a loss, one interception for 13 yards, and nine pass deflections.
