The Cleveland Browns salary cap will be discussed significantly over the next few years. For fans, the team having highly paid players at multiple positions is unique. Myles Garrett, Denzel Ward, Nick Chubb, Joel Bitonio, Wyatt Teller and David Njoku have signed long-term deals after being drafted and/or developed by the team.
In the past, fans have only looked forward to Joe Thomas, Joe Haden or free agents from other teams making big money in Cleveland. In 2022, and beyond, the Browns are full of well-paid talent.
With that comes a limit with the salary cap. While many will say ‘the salary cap is fake’ because it can be manipulated, the salary cap is a reality that, at times, can cause the middle of the roster to move on to other teams leaving some highly paid players and players on rookie contracts to make up most of the roster.
Going into 2022, almost $19 million of the team’s salary cap space is taken up with dead money paid out to nine players. Of those nine players, two are still on the team’s roster, two were traded and the other five were released:
TE Austin Hooper – $3.75 million
(AP Photo/Ron Schwane)
Perhaps Andrew Berry’s worst decision so far, Hooper flopped as a top-level free agent addition and was released this offseason. His $3.75 million cap hit is the 15th highest on this year’s Browns roster.
His dead cap jumps to $7.5 million in 2023.
DE Jadeveon Clowney – $3.6 million
Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports
One of the recent salary cap techniques used recently is void years. The void years allow teams to spread out salary cap hits. Clowney returned on another one-year contract for 2022 that also includes another 4 void years.
His 2021 contract had a similar structure which, when he didn’t sign an extension before the new league year, voided creating the $3.6 million in dead cap for 2022 despite him being back on the team.
Combined, his two cap hits are around $7 million for 2022 but is set to be over $6 million in dead cap hit in 2023.
CB Troy Hill – $2.6 million
(AP Photo/Ron Schwane)
Another free agent addition that didn’t pan out, Berry traded Hill back to Los Angeles during the NFL draft. Cleveland still has $2.6 million on their cap for Hill in 2022.
QB Case Keenum – $2.3 million
The other traded player, Cleveland moved Keenum to Buffalo this offseason and replaced him with…
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