Browns to reap benefits of $55.2 million from Rams, Chargers, and Raiders relocating

Given the highly-sensitive topic in Cleveland about teams moving in the NFL, thanks to what Art Modell once did with the Browns, some fans aren’t pleased when they see Jimmy Haslam cast a vote in favor of teams like the St. Louis Rams, San Diego Chargers, and Oakland Raiders all relocating to Los Angeles, Los Angeles, and Las Vegas, respectively. But, it’s easy to see why Haslam and other owners in the league would be on board with the relocation: and it involves a lot of green.

According to Darren Rovell of ESPN, the Rams and Chargers are each paying a relocation fee of $645 million beginning in December 2019 and ending in December 2028. The Raiders will pay a fee of $378 million over ten years as soon as they move. How much does that net the Browns?

Take $645 million * 2 = $1.29 billion. That amount is split up over 30 clubs (every team except the Rams and Chargers), which comes to $43 million.

The $378 million is split up over 31 clubs (every team except the Raiders), which comes to $12.19 million. Adding both numbers together, it’s a total of $55.2 million for the Browns beginning in 2019. 29 other teams will also get that amount, and if you do the math, the Chargers, Rams, and Raiders each get a smaller slicer.

The Packers released their financial report this week, and added the money to their net income, even though they aren’t in possession of it yet. However, they only listed the income as $27.1 million, factoring in things like the value of money over time and future taxes. I’m not an accounting major, so the arrival at that exact number is a little beyond me.

Just how much have relocation fees gone through the roof over the past 20+ years? According to a Baltimore Sun article from 1996, Modell had to pay a relocation fee of just $29 million.