Cleveland Browns Free Agency: Browns Not Being Jerks, Just Playing Moneyball
In Cleveland Browns free agency, the team is getting dragged across the coals for failing to make big moves on the first day of NFL free agency, but it’s important for Browns fans to remember: the new front office is playing “moneyball” and these moves are symbolic of the team’s new philosophy.
The Cleveland Browns aren’t being jerks, they’re just playing “moneyball.”
Get ready Cleveland, because this is what Browns owner Jimmy Haslam signed up for, right? Paul DePodesta DID change the way baseball teams are configured, so it’s no stunner the Browns didn’t feel a sense of urgency to retain free-agent starters Alex Mack, Mitchell Schwartz, Travis Benjamin and Tashaun Gipson.
The Browns went 3-13 with this quartet. They can’t win three games without them?
Not overpaying for talent and putting higher regard on cheaper, younger talent are the fundamentals of what DePodesta sought to do with Billy Bean and the Oakland A’s. With the Browns losing four starters in free agency, and failing to sign other big names, the new analytically-driven front office stayed true to the moneyball principles.
The four Browns who left made $140 million in total money with their new deals.
Benjamin’s new contract included $13 million in guarantees. The Rabbit can make $18 million over the first three years of his new deal, breaking down to $6 million per season. Alex Mack gets $28.5 million guaranteed over the next three years. Gipson’s five-year, $35 million agreement with the Jaguars breaks down to $7 million per season. Schwartz signed a five-year, $33 million deal that includes $15 million guaranteed. The $6.6 million a year average makes him the second-highest paid right tackle in the NFL.
The Browns do have plenty of cap space ($40 million), but it would have cost the team an estimated $27 million against next season’s cap to keep all of those players. Additionally, Mack (broken leg), Benjamin (ACL), and Gipson (MCL) have all dealt with serious injuries. Perhaps this was taken into consideration during contract talks.
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The one that doesn’t make sense is Mitchell Schwartz. He didn’t get nearly what we thought he would ($10 million per season), and some apparent “nonsense,” as reported by Schwartz’s brother during the contract talks involved the Browns pulling their pre-combine offer. He’s young and coming off his rookie contract. Perhaps the front office believes Austin Pasztor can be as productive as Schwartz. The two are about the same age, but Pasztor comes much cheaper.
Free agency is the slap in the face remind that Haslam is going all in on his approach to change the way football teams are built. He didn’t try to reinvent the way front offices are configured to go about business as usual. Brown, DePodesta and Berry have a plan, and it’s going to play out.
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It’s being executed in excruciating fashion, but they deserve time. Not easy for a Browns fans to swallow, but that’s moneyball.