Tag: Browns salary cap

Breaking down the full details of the Deshaun Watson settlement with the NFL

Breaking down the full details of the Deshaun Watson settlement with the NFL

Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson will be suspended for the first 11 games of the 2022 season. A settlement agreed upon between the NFL and the NFLPA on Thursday sets the final punishment for the Browns quarterback.

The settlement ends months of speculation and back-and-forth between the league, Watson, the NFLPA and various mediators. It’s an increase from the original suspension recommendation by Judge Sue L. Robinson of six games, a finding the NFL announced it would appeal.

This settlement ends any appeal or further action on the Watson ordeal up to this point.

Here are some of the key details to know about the settlement and how it impacts the Browns, Watson, and the multiple women who accused him of sexual misconduct while the quarterback was a member of the Houston Texans.

Browns get some financial relief from Baker Mayfield and Panthers in the trade for the QB

Both Baker Mayfield and the Carolina Panthers took financial hits in the pending trade with the Cleveland Browns

One of the key holdups for the Cleveland Browns in their efforts to trade away erstwhile starting quarterback Baker Mayfield was the QB’s big salary. Mayfield is due to make $18.9 million in 2022 on the fifth-year option of his rookie contract, a move the Browns executed last offseason.

Per the reported details of the pending trade from NFL.com, both Mayfield and the Carolina Panthers have agreed to help out the Browns on the financial front in the pending deal. Mike Garafolo of the NFL Network indicates that Mayfield lowered his salary and the Panthers will also pick up some of the tab on his contract.

Cleveland will still be on the hook for $10.5 million of Mayfield’s fully guaranteed salary. Carolina is now obligated for roughly $5 million according to the trade terms. Mayfield helped facilitate the trade by shaving around $3.5 million from his salary, too.

Mayfield was slated to be the Browns’ highest-paid contractual obligation in 2022. Saving over $8 million –presuming the reported contractual details are accurate–will give the Browns right around $49 million in cap space once the pending trade is completed.

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Jarvis Landry and the Browns: Evaluating all the options

The Browns and Jarvis Landry have several options to consider this offseason. Our Jeff Risdon breaks them down.

The fate of Jarvis Landry and his time with the Cleveland Browns is one of the NFL’s hot topics as we approach the 2022 scouting combine. Recent Twitter comments from Landry appear to be bringing the situation to a head, with the Pro Bowl wide receiver throwing the ball in the Browns’ court.

Now 29, Landry is coming off his worst NFL season since entering the league as a second-round pick in 2014 by the Miami Dolphins. He caught 52 passes for 510 yards and two TDs in 12 games, all the lowest in his career. In his recent post, Landry noted the ongoing injury issues he suffered through, including a sprained MCL. He had surgery for a core muscle/hip issue in the last offseason, too.

What will the Browns do? It’s a complicated question with several different resolutions. Here is a quick look at the potential answers for what can happen with the Browns and Landry.

Here’s what could be next for Browns, Odell Beckham Jr.

Exploring the different options the Cleveland Browns have with Odell Beckham Jr. going forward

The NFL trade deadline passed without any action on the Odell Beckham Jr. front from the Cleveland Browns. But one day later, the situation appears to be coming to a head.

Beckham was excused from practice on Wednesday, and reports from several sources indicate the Browns are preparing to move on without the enigmatic wide receiver.

The timing and ramifications of the seemingly imminent breakup between Beckham and the Browns can go in a number of different ways. Here are some of the options and what would happen in each case, as well as what the Browns can do with the roster.

Browns have the most expensive offensive line in the NFL in 2021

The Browns get a good return on their considerable investment in the offensive line, too.

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The Cleveland Browns have one of the most respected offensive lines in the NFL entering the 2021 season. The unit, featuring bookend tackles Jack Conklin and Jedrick Wills, is the top-ranked line in many recent lists and rankings.

It’s a good return on a considerable investment from the Browns front office. No team will spend more salary cap room on the offensive line than Cleveland this year.

The Browns’ OL payroll is $53,426,790 per Spotrac’s latest update. That’s a little over $700,000 more than the Jacksonville Jaguars have in cap commitments for their O-line in 2021. The Indianapolis Colts are the only other team over $50 million.

Here’s how the cap hits for 2021 break down with the starting five:

RT Jack Conklin – $13 million

RG Wyatt Teller – $2.183 million

C JC Tretter – $11.075 million

LG Joel Bitonio – $10 million

LT Jedrick Wills – $4.478 million

Top reserve Chris Hubbard, who can play either guard or tackle, costs $4.96 million against the cap. No other linemen count more than $900,000 in 2021.

The league average is $34.8 million per offensive line, which puts the Browns almost $20 million over the midpoint. On the other end of the spectrum is the AFC North rival Steelers, who currently have 16 offensive linemen under contract for less than $17 million total salary in 2021.

All salary information is from Spotrac. 

Browns will benefit from record NFL salary cap in 2022

The cap will be over $208 million in 2022 after a one-year dip

The Cleveland Browns are one of the few teams to avoid any real complications from the lowered NFL salary cap in 2021. It seems GM Andrew Berry and the Browns won’t have to worry as much about the cap in 2022, either.

The NFL and NFLPA have agreed to bump the 2022 salary cap to $208.2 million, which represents the highest season-to-season increase in league history. In 2020 the cap is just $182.5 million, down from over $198 million in 2019. The loss of ticketing and revenues due to the COVID-19 pandemic cause the precipitous drop.

Berry and the Browns still have over $20 million in cap space available for 2021, the fourth-most in the league. But that ranking drops to 25th for 2022, and the Browns have several key players — Baker Mayfield, Nick Chubb, Denzel Ward — who will be looking for big contract extensions.

The record-setting bump of over $25 million added to the 2022 cap for all teams gives the Browns a lot more room to operate. Cleveland can also rollover any of the excess cap figure it holds in 2021 to create even more space.

Updating the Browns salary cap position after signing Jadeveon Clowney

The Browns rank 16th in available cap room

After this week’s big splash into the free agency pool with defensive end Jadeveon Clowney, the Cleveland Browns figure to be done spending before the 2021 NFL draft. Now that we have the details of Clowney’s contract, it’s a good time to reset where the Browns stand in relation to the 2021 salary cap.

There are three primary sources for the salary cap room, and all three have slightly different figures for the Browns after including Clowney’s one-year contract worth $8 million, with $2.5 million guaranteed along with four void years.

The NFLPA’s public salary cap report lists the Browns with $10,640,310 as of April 15th.

Over the Cap has the Browns at $10,785,462, while Spotrac lists the Browns figure at $10,311,766. No matter the exact figure, Cleveland ranks 16th in available cap room amongst the NFL’s 32 teams. It does not include the rookie wage pool designated to sign the team’s draft picks.

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Breaking down the Browns cap wizardry with Troy Hill’s contract

The Browns got creative to make Hill very affordable

Cornerback Troy Hill signed a two-year, $9 million contract with $4.5 fully guaranteed at signing to join the Browns as a free agent. Yet thanks to some creative contractual structure, Hill will count just $1.875 million against Cleveland’s salary cap in 2021.

It’s one of the prime examples of the new way the NFL is doing business, and the Cleveland Browns are at the forefront of the movement.

Hill’s contract is a great example. It’s a two-year deal, but it includes two extra years that automatically void. The contract is written through the 2024 season initially, but the 2023 and 2024 seasons don’t really exist other than on paper. The team cannot exercise any option on them, and Hill doesn’t have to do anything for them to go away.

The “void years” are a new phenomenon in the NFL. Those two years exist on paper to help amortize the bonuses in Hill’s contract. Instead of swallowing the cap charge on the $3.5 million bonus all at once, or in the two years he’ll play under the contract, the Browns tacked on the voidable years to further spread it out.

It creates dead money in the future for the Browns. But the anticipated rise in the salary cap, once fans are allowed back in stadiums and the new television contracts kick in, will more than cover the deferred dead cap room. This year’s salary cap crunch around the NFL has led to the concept of voidable years really taking hold. Hill and the Browns are one really good example of the new wave of creative contracts.

All info on Hill’s contract comes from Over The Cap. 

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Browns salary cap update after the first day of free agency

The Browns

If GM Andrew Berry and the Cleveland Browns want to spend some money on free agents, they still have the ability to make things happen. The team sits comfortably with over $18 million in cap room after the first day of the NFL’s free agency legal tampering period.

While deals are not finalized until Wednesday at 4 p.m. ET, the Browns agreed-upon deal with safety John Johnson for four years and $33.75 million is factored into the cap equation. Per Over The Cap, that leaves the Browns with $18,251,244 as of Tuesday morning. At Spotrac, the estimated figure is slightly higher at $18,540,031.

The Browns rank 14th in available cap funds among the 32 NFL teams with either figure.

Cleveland still has the potential to offer contract extensions to some notable players, including QB Baker Mayfield. They can also restructure some veteran contracts, like DL Sheldon Richardson or WR Jarvis Landry, if they need additional funds.

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Updating the Browns 2021 salary cap figure

Updating the Browns 2021 salary cap figure while factoring in the rollover money and explaining where it all comes from

The Cleveland Browns remain in better salary cap position than most of their NFL brethren. With the more precise figures coming to light this week, the Browns have $24.87 million in available cap room, per Over The Cap.

Because the Browns carried over a league-high $30.4 million dollars, their cap figure is significantly higher than the $182.5 salary cap officially set by the league on Wednesday. Cleveland’s cap is effectively $211.9 million as a result of the rollover.

For a very concise and correct explanation, Andre Weingarten of EA Sports summed it up very nicely in a quick video posted to Twitter, using the Browns as a specific example.

The available $24.87 million isn’t an exact figure and will go down with any free agent additions. There are still ways for the Browns to free up cap room, including contract restructures or outright releases, but there won’t be as many veterans sent packing in Cleveland as there are with numerous other teams, who are lopping off big contracts to try and get under the cap.