It’s time for our annual explanation on how the 89% cash spending rule works, and where the Cleveland Browns fall. First, if you’ve been following this feature for several years, note that the Browns and all 32 teams in the NFL were compliant for the first four-year period of the rule, which was from 2013-2016. We are presently in the second four-year period of the rule, which runs from 2017-2020.
The NFLPA has provided a nice infographic of each team’s cash spending in the past, but they did not do the same for the 2018 season.