CLEVELAND, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – The Browns paid an awful lot not to make the playoffs in 2021.
Nobody spent more in the NFL last season than Andrew Berry and Cleveland did.
According to figures released Tuesday by the NFLPA, the Browns spent a whopping $239.4 million this past season, $4.5 million more than the New England Patriots who came in with a payroll of $234.9 million.
The Los Angeles Rams spent the least, $137.5 million, and won the Super Bowl. Cincinnati’s payroll came in at $197.9 million.
Berry’s most expensive additions during the 2021 offseason included safety John Johnson, who received a three-year $33.75 million contract, and defensive end Jadeveon Clowney, who signed a one-year, $8 million deal that included additional incentives.
Clowney, who is an unrestricted free agent, is not expected to return.
The NFLPA also reports that the Browns carried over $10,598,329 in salary cap room from 2021 into 2022 and will have $21,071,465 in cap space available when the new league year begins March 16 at 4 p.m. eastern.
Berry is expected to release receiver Jarvis Landry, who is in the final year of a five-year, $75.5 million deal he signed in 2018 after being acquired from Miami in a trade, to clear over $14.8 million in cap room if the two sides don’t agree to a restructure or extension.
The Browns, a trendy pick to be a Super Bowl contender last season following their first playoff appearance in 18 seasons the previous year, finished a disappointing 8-9, the 20th losing season in 23 years since the franchise returned to the NFL as an expansion team in 1999.
