NFL Spending Patterns: A Two-Year Comparison
How did NFL teams spend money in 2022 compared to 2021 and did that necessarily translate to more success?
You often hear about how NFL teams need to spend money in order to have playoff success. Some fans look at the teams that pay players big money and think that, if their team had an owner willing to spend money, they'd have more success.
However, spending money by itself does not lead to success. There are teams who regularly spend money to retain their own players or sign free agents from other teams, but haven't had much success to show for it.
Furthermore, some teams that engage in a spending spree in a given year are either coming off a recent Super Bowl win or are looking for the final pieces to get to a Super Bowl.
One way to look at how much money teams spend and why they do so is to compare one year's cash spending to another, then examine what changed with these teams, if anything.
An examination of the cash teams spent in 2021 to 2022 may tell us a few things. While it's true that 2021 followed a 2020 season with no in-person attendance, teams didn't exactly stop spending money in 2021. And while overall spending has increased in 2022, some of that can be attributed to the market for certain positions increasing (notably, wide receiver).
Furthermore, the purpose here is to understand what teams really fit the pattern of spending money, year after year, and those who spend more in a given season for a particular reason.
Let's categorize the teams, in terms of their cash spending in 2021 to 2022.
Top half of league spender both years
Buffalo Bills: $187.7M in 2021 (16th), $289.4M in 2022 (2nd)
New York Jets: $203.6M in 2021 (2nd), $277.5M in 2022 (5th)
Cleveland Browns: $202.4M in 2021 (3rd), $270.2M in 2022 (8th)
Las Vegas Raiders: $189.9M in 2021 (10th), $259.9M in 2022 (11th)
Miami Dolphins: $195.1M in 2021 (6th), $258.1M in 2022 (12th)
San Francisco 49ers: $195M in 2021 (7th), $254.2M in 2022 (13th)
Philadelphia Eagles: $189.1M in 2021 (11th), $247.2M in 2022 (16th)
Here you have three teams that have owners who have shown a willingness to spend money almost every year: the Jets, Browns and Dolphins. Of course, these teams have not had much playoff success in the past few years, so they are examples of why spending money is not enough by itself.
The Bills are an interesting team in that they haven't been big spenders until recently. However, they have built a Super Bowl contender over several years and are making that final push to get to the championship game.
The Raiders and Eagles, while both ranking in the top half each year, aren't as big of spenders as the Jets, Browns and Dolphins. However, both have a top receiver who took advantage of a strong market for the position.
The Niners could get their cash spending lowered for 2022 if they trade Jimmy Garoppolo, but even with Trey Lance on a cheap rookie deal, expect the Niners to spend more money when it comes times to extend Nick Bosa and possibly Mike McGlinchey.
Bottom half in 2021, top half in 2022
Los Angeles Rams: $184.2M in 2021 (23rd), $293.7M in 2022 (1st)
New Orleans Saints: $185.2M in 2021 (20th), $288M in 2022 (3rd)
Jacksonville Jaguars: $180.4M in 2021 (28th), $280.8M in 2022 (4th)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers: $177.6M in 2021 (30th), $274.2M in 2022 (6th)
Green Bay Packers: $180.3M in 2021 (29th), $270.8M in 2022 (7th)
Los Angeles Chargers: $181.9M in 2021 (26th), $261.8M in 2022 (9th)
Carolina Panthers: $181.7M in 2021 (27th), $260.9M in 2022 (10th)
Seattle Seahawks: $172.7M in 2021 (32nd), $251.1M in 2022 (14th)
Pittsburgh Steelers: $177.4M in 2021 (31st), $248.2M in 2022 (15th)
There are a variety of teams in this category. The Rams, of course, are coming off a Super Bowl win and spent more money this year in hopes of a repeat win. The Buccaneers won the Super Bowl the year before the Rams did and are trying to make the final push for another.
The Packers just paid a lot of money to Aaron Rodgers, while the Chargers are trying to take advantage of the low-cost contract for Justin Herbert while they have the chance. The Jaguars appear to be doing the same with Trevor Lawrence, though the Jaguars have typically been a team that will spend money.
The Saints have restructured a lot of contracts and are paying more money to Jameis Winston in 2022. The Panthers are stuck paying Sam Darnold and recently extended DJ Moore.
Meanwhile, the Steelers and Seahawks aren't exactly big spenders in 2022, though they each took a noticeable jump from last season after a recent extension. For the Steelers, that would be Minkah Fitzpatrick, and for the Seahawks, that would be DK Metcalf. Chances are these teams could fall back into the lower half next season, unless they have other players who they see as a priority to extend.
Top half spender in 2021, but not in 2022
Detroit Lions: $196.2M in 2021 (5th), $245.1M in 2022 (17th)
Washington Commanders: $193.4M in 2021 (8th), $235.5M in 2022 (20th)
Minnesota Vikings: $188.4M in 2021 (14th), $233.7M in 2022 (21st)
Denver Broncos: $188.3M in 2021 (15th), $230.5M in 2022 (25th)
Arizona Cardinals: $191.1M in 2021 (9th), $231.4M in 2022 (23rd)
New England Patriots: $199.3M in 2021 (4th), $219M in 2022 (27th)
Dallas Cowboys: $205.6M in 2021 (1st), $211.1M in 2022 (28th)
Cincinnati Bengals: $188.6M in 2021 (13th), $209.5M in 2022 (29th)
Chicago Bears: $188.7M in 2021 (12th), $159.8M in 2022 (32nd)
The Cowboys might surprise some people because they are sometimes thought of as a team that spends money. However, after extending Dak Prescott last season, they moved on from Amari Cooper and La'El Collins and didn't get aggressive in free agency.
The Cardinals may be another surprise. They did extend Kyler Murray and DJ Humphries, but not to the point it put them into the upper half. They also weren't aggressive in free agency this past offseason.
And then there's the Commanders, who are a team that has shown a willingness to spend money. They did extend Terry McLaurin, but otherwise, they are waiting to see how things go with the team this year.
The Patriots were aggressive in free agency in 2021, something they have not done prior to that. They sat out 2022 free agency, but they may be in position to be aggressive in 2023. Time will tell if they go that route, particularly with Mac Jones still on a cheap contract.
The Broncos have typically not been a big spender, but they did pay the bulk of Von Miller's salary last year after trading him. It's possible things change with new ownership and, more importantly, with Russell Wilson and other players likely to enter extension talks.
The Bengals were more aggressive in free agency in 2020 than some may have expected, but then they went back to their usual pattern of looking for lower-cost players. They could jump into the upper half again once it's time to extend Joe Burrow and Ja'Marr Chase.
The Vikings are a team in transition, the Lions took on more money last year after taking Jared Goff's contract and the Bears have unloaded contracts and are now rebuilding. Keep an eye on the Bears next year, though, because they will have a lot of cap space and will want to take advantage of Justin Field's low-cost rookie deal.
Bottom half spender in both years
Baltimore Ravens: $182.7M in 2021 (24th), $239.9M in 2022 (18th)
Tennessee Titans: $184.3M in 2021 (22nd), $238.3M in 2022 (19th)
Kansas City Chiefs: $184.5M in 2021 (21st), $232M in 2022 (22nd)
Houston Texans: $186.9M in 2021 (18th), $231M in 2022 (24th)
Indianapolis Colts: $187.1M in 2021 (17th), $219.2M in 2022 (26th)
New York Giants: $182.5M in 2021 (25th), $207.3M in 2022 (30th)
Atlanta Falcons: $185.4M in 2021 (19th), $180M in 2022 (31st)
Here you have several teams that have never really been big spenders: the Ravens, Titans and Chiefs. Even when they have a quarterback receiving a lot of money, they tend to go cheaper at other positions. Keep an eye on the Ravens, who will have to pay Lamar Jackson, but may decide to cut corners elsewhere.
The Colts did spend a lot of money in the past, but now have a general manager that is more conservative. This may be a team that doesn't bother to spend money unless it drafts a quarterback who proves worthy to build around, at which point the Colts might spend money to take advantage of that.
The Texans, Giants and Falcons are all rebuilding. Only time will tell if they become big spenders at some point. As with the Colts, that likely depends on how soon they get a QB through the draft who they can build around.
Bottom Line
A team doesn't have to be a big spender to be successful. The teams that have the most success right now are those who have the quarterback they can build around, a head coach who gets the most out of players and a general manager who drafts well and uses free agency wisely.
The Ravens and Chiefs are good examples of teams that have success despite not spending a lot of money. The Patriots have been like this as well.
Teams such as the Niners, Rams, Saints and Buccaneers have been willing to spend money, but they have had their best success with the right combination of quarterback and head coach.
Meanwhile, big spenders such as the Dolphins, Jets and Browns haven't had the playoff success that other teams have had. Each one enters the 2022 season with expectations for improvement, but that will only come if things go well with the quarterback and the coaching. The same is true for the Jaguars, who were the biggest spenders in 2022 free agency.
For teams that didn't spend money in 2022, that could change. However, whether they should depends on their success in 2022 and how things work out with the quarterback and coaching. One should not assume that spending money by itself is the ticket to success.