Reviewing the Browns' 2013 Salaries by Unit: Offense, Defense, and Special Teams

Earlier today, we looked at the fact that the Cleveland Browns have a whopping $45.46 million in cap space (roughly) this offseason. Now, let's take a look at how much money the Browns had invested in offense, defense, and special teams during the 2013 NFL season. There are a few disclaimers to be aware of with these figures:

• We did not include dead money, so someone like Trent Richardson was not factored in.
• We did not include players on the practice squad.
• We included players on the active roster, injured reserve, and non-football injury list. There were 63 players included (31 on offense, 28 on defense, 4 on special teams).
• We will factor in rankings, which is data pulled from The Guardian's interactive chart. However, these rankings should be taken loosely, as their rankings did not factor in players on the non-football injury list, which normally wouldn't matter but makes a big difference for Cleveland, since Desmond Bryant's $7.8 million figure is absent from their chart (heart problems). I will use my own figures against their list, under the somewhat unrealistic assumption that all 31 other teams have accurate figures listed.

Offense

The Browns invested $38.85 million on offensive players, which was the 29th highest figure in the NFL. The investments, in order from highest to lowest by position, were as follows: OT ($13.35 million), WR ($5.67 million), OG ($5.41 million), C ($5.03 million), QB ($4.17 million), TE ($3.03 million), and RB ($2.20 million). The investment at running back plummeted after the purge at the position (Trent Richardson, Montario Hardesty, Brandon Jackson).

Defense

The Browns invested $55.21 million on defensive players, which was ranked 12th in the NFL. The investments, in order from highest to lowest by position, were as follows: DE ($16.41 million), OLB ($14.67 million), CB ($10.36 million), ILB ($7.74 million), NT ($3.30 million), and S ($2.73 million).

Special Teams

The Browns invested $2.30 million on special teams players, which was ranked 26th in the NFL. The Browns were higher at this figure in the past because they had been using the franchise tag on Phil Dawson.

Total

Cumulatively, the Browns invested $96.36 million on players, which was ranked 26th in the NFL. Remember that these figures are for last season. To compare, we said the Browns' non-dead money for the Top 51 players in 2014 currently sits at $98.19 million. Looking at the pie charts for offense and defense, the figures that could change dramatically next year are at safety and center, specifically if the franchise tag gets used.