Browns, Patriots Top List of NFL Teams with Most Salary Cap Space Before Week 1

The Cleveland Browns ($34.7 million), New England Patriots ($32.2 million) and New York Jets ($31.3 million) will head into the start of the 2020 season with the most available cap space in the NFL. 

Albert Breer of The MMQB shared the top 10 teams in terms of cap space:

There's a common theme among many of the teams on the list—they either have starting quarterbacks on rookie contracts or short-term starters on affordable deals. Regardless, many of those teams have quarterbacks who aren't commanding a ton of cap space in 2020. 

• Browns: Baker Mayfield has a cap hit of $9 million. 
• Patriots: Cam Newton has a cap hit of $1.1 million. 
• Jets: Sam Darnold has a cap hit of $8.3 million. 
• Jacksonville Jaguars: Gardner Minshew has a $897,721 cap hit. 
• Denver Broncos: Drew Lock has a $1.5 million cap hit.  
• Miami Dolphins: Ryan Fitzpatrick has an $8 million cap hit. 

Now look at the list of the teams with the least cap space heading into the season:

Many of those teams have quarterbacks with substantial cap hits. 

• Los Angeles Rams: Jared Goff ($28.8 million). 
• New Orleans Saints: Drew Brees ($23.6 million).
• Minnesota Vikings: Kirk Cousins ($21 million). 
• Atlanta Falcons: Matt Ryan ($18.9 million).
• Pittsburgh Steelers: Ben Roethlisberger ($23.7 million). 
• Seattle Seahawks: Russell Wilson ($31 million).
• Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Tom Brady ($25 million). 

It's no secret that cap gymnastics get more complicated for teams with veteran, franchise quarterbacks signed to lucrative long-term deals. It's one of the ironies of the NFL—you can't win without a star quarterback, but signing one to a market-value deal leaves you with far less wiggle room to address the rest of your roster. 

Super Bowls aren't just won on the field, they are also won on the cap sheet, as contenders look to maximize their talent with the money allotted to them.