Browns cash spending drops in 2023; 3-year spending tops NFL by large margin

While the NFL salary cap is discussed primarily, cash spending is vital to understand

Media and fans talk about the NFL salary cap as some rigid creation that keeps teams from being able to keep good players. Many teams, especially those with deep-pocketed owners, look at the cap as an accounting tool primarily.

In the NFL, cash, not cap, is king.

For teams with owners who are willing to spend money upfront, the cap is flexible. For teams whose owners are not willing or not able to spend money upfront, the salary cap is much more rigid.

For the Cleveland Browns, Jimmy Haslam’s willingness to spend money has allowed GM Andrew Berry to manipulate the salary cap in ways that many other teams are not able to do. As Jack Duffin at The OBR explains, they are able to do so and it is a sustainable model.

The team has blown way past any cash spending threshold.

Interestingly, in 2023 the Browns cash spending dropped and they dropped out of the top 10 in the NFL and were third in the AFC North:

Despite that, over three years, Cleveland is far and away the biggest spender of cash in the NFL:

While fans may immediately say “They are just kicking the can down the road,” Duffin’s explanation is very helpful in understanding their plan.

For the NFLPA, agents and players, cash spending is really all that matters. Cap hits and dead cap are related issues but the most important thing for players is how much cash is coming in. That Haslam’s deep pockets allow players to get paid upfront, instead of hoping and waiting for yearly salaries, gives them an advantage in NFL free agency and within the salary cap.