Nick Chubb signs his 3-year contract extension with the Browns worth $36.6 million; ‘Embodies the soul of our team,’ says Andrew Berry
Andrew Hoy #AndrewHoy
CLEVELAND, Ohio — Nick Chubb wanted to finish his career in Cleveland, and now he has a chance to do just that.
Chubb, 25, signed his three-year contract worth $36.6 million on Monday, including $20 million in total guarantees, including his 2021 salary from the fourth and final year of his rookie contract. Cleveland has reported that his signing bonus is $12 million.
“It means a lot to me to be able to stay in Cleveland and be a Brown,” Chubb said in a release. “It’s an honor to put on the orange helmet and represent the city of Cleveland and these great fans. I’m happy that I will be able to be here for many more years. The Browns put their faith in me during the draft and I want to say thank you to everyone who believed in me and who has supported me. There is still a lot of work to do to continue to get better and become a better team.”
Why Chubb’s extension is win-win and what’s next for the Browns?
The deal wraps Chubb up through 2024, a year in which he’ll turn 29 on Dec. 27th. It also enables him to hit free agency again at 29 or possibly re-sign with the Browns to put the finishing touches on his career here.
“From the day Nick Chubb first entered our facilities, it was clear to see that he would become a pillar of our organization,” said Andrew Berry, Browns EVP of Football Operations and General Manager. “Although Nick may be a man of few words whose strong-and-silent demeanor can be easy to overlook from the outside, his actions over the past three years have reverberated within the walls of our building. Nick’s on-field contributions stand for themselves.
“He’s a dynamic runner who is on pace to be one of the most accomplished players to ever don an orange helmet at the position. But it’s his work ethic, intelligence, toughness and selflessness that makes us proud that he represents our city. Quite plainly, Nick embodies the soul of our team and we are thrilled that he will be a Cleveland Brown for years to come.”
Our emergency podcast on Chubb’s extension
A two-time Pro Bowler, Chubb has exceeded expectations as the Browns No. 35 overall pick in 2018 out of Georgia. He’s rushed for at least 1,000 yards in each of the past two seasons, and came just four shy of the milestone as a rookie.
“A great player. An even better person,” Browns Managing and Principal Partner Jimmy Haslam said. “(There are) very few people I have met like Nick Chubb.”
Since 2018, Chubb has averaged more yards per carry (5.23) than any other running back with a minimum of 300 carries. In that span, he’s also second in the NFL with 17 100-yard games and tied for second with seven runs of 50 yards or more. When he hits the century mark, the Browns are 13-4.
“Nick Chubb is a tremendous football player, but an even better person,” head coach Kevin Stefanski said. “He’s one of the best examples of a team player that I’ve been around. Nick always puts the team before himself, and that’s why you love seeing a guy like him get rewarded.”
Despite missing four games last season with a sprained right medial collateral ligament, Chubb led the team with 1,067 yards rushing and 12 touchdowns, becoming the first player since Mercury Morris in 1972 to rush for more than 1,000 yards and 12 TDs on 190 or fewer attempts. He also became the first Browns player since Jim Brown to rush for 1,000 yards twice in his first three season. He’s seventh in Browns history with 28 TDs and sixth with 3,557 yards.
Browns guard Joel Bitonio sang Chubb’s praises on Friday.
“He’s just a special guy, man. Like great teammates in my eight years here, Nick Chubb’s one of them,” Bitonio said. “He just does everything right off the field, on the field, you never hear him complain or really never hear him at all.”
“[It’s] His uncanny ability to not get tackled. It’s broken tackles, stiff-arm, juke, finishing, speed, he just kinda does it all. and you really know what you’re going to get because there’s times where he can run someone over or run through somebody. There’s other times where he just runs down the sideline.’’
Chubb is the first of four big extensions the Browns have been working on to get done, including those for Baker Mayfield, Denzel Ward and Wyatt Teller. Mayfield and Ward have had their fifth-year options for 2022 picked up, and Teller is heading into the final year of his deal. The Browns will now turn their attention to the other three, as well as trying to wrap up safety Ronnie Harrison.
“I think with [Chubb] and Kareem [Hunt], the more runs we get called, the more we have a chance to lean on the defense, so there’s going to be a bigger chance to break those. I know a lot of those yards came from big runs to end the game. He’s just a special guy, man.
“It’s special to block for that guy and Kareem, as well. It’ll be tough, but let’s get 10 yards a carry in the fourth quarter again this year, and we’ll be in a good spot.’’
The second-happiest player on the team after Chubb about the new deal was his backfield mate Kareem Hunt, who urged the Browns last month to get it done. It means lethal one-two punch for the Browns for years to come.
“Please pay that man,” Hunt said while at his youth football camp at alma mater Willoughby South High School. “He’s a freak of nature. And he’s a brother to me, and I love what he does on and off the field. Just a great person and teammate.”
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