BEREA, Ohio — The Amari Cooper holdout situation has come to an end with Cooper and the Cleveland Browns agreeing on a one-year contract restructure that sees the wide receiver get a pay raise this season, a league source confirmed.
Cooper has agreed to the one-year contract restructure that guarantees the $20 million base salary on his contract this year while adding an additional $5 million. He is still set to be an unrestricted free agent in 2025.
The wide receiver was not a participant at minicamp last month, holding out for a new contract with the Browns.
Despite being away from the team while his agency worked through contract negotiations, the organization remained confident a deal would get done. As Cooper awaited his deal, he had the support of his teammates, including quarterback Deshaun Watson and tight end David Njoku.
"It is what it is, at the end of the day, he has his reasons. I'm sure the Browns are in [conversations] with him. I'm sure they're communicating, so I'm not really too worried about it. As long as he's there by September, Week One, that's all we're worried about," Njoku said at minicamp earlier this summer.
Cooper missed minicamp, but all parties seemed confident a deal would get done.
Watson said that he had been in plenty of contact with Cooper during his holdout and was not concerned about any missed time.
"The connection's been awesome. Me and Amari, even with all the other guys, it's not like he's missed a beat," Watson said. "Amari's always been there. We know what he can do. He's shown that. He's shown that over the offseason. The brotherhood, the love, the communication, none of that stuff has missed a beat at all."
The Browns are gearing up for training camp, which will open up at the Greenbrier Resort in West Virginia on Thursday. Monday saw rookies report for camp and veterans reported on Tuesday—Cooper among them
He'll now get back to work preparing for the 2024 season, strengthening his connection with a healthy Watson, working on the new offense with Ken Dorsey and playing alongside new offensive weapons like Jerry Jeudy.
