Cleveland Browns: Comparing Phillips’ rookie deal to the other linebackers

Jacob Phillips, the Cleveland Browns third-round pick signed his contract

As reported by Adam Schefter, the Cleveland Browns have officially signed Jacob Phillips to his rookie contract, who was their second third-round pick in the 2020 NFL draft.

This leaves only Grant Delpit, the Browns second-round pick and Jacob Phillips’ college teammate, as the only rookie left for the team to sign.

The signing was announced by ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

Phillips’ contract is being reported to be a four-year deal, worth $4,499,404 with an $832,295 signing bonus. That’s a nice chunk of change for the third-round draft choice.

In comparison, Sione Takitaki was last year’s third-round pick linebacker, and his contract was for four years at $3,735,876 with a signing bonus of $960,876. The Browns have made it apparent that they aren’t too keen on paying players at the linebacker position, so let’s see how Phillips’ contract compares to the other linebackers on the squad.

Here is a breakdown of the Browns current cap allocations at linebacker for the 2020 season:

"B.J. Goodson, $2,390,625Sione Takitaki $915,219Jacob Phillips $818,074Mack Wilson $752,201Tae Davis $750,000Jermaine Grace $750,000Trevon Young $675,000"

This information comes courtesy of Spotrac, who very quickly was able to update their database with Jacob Phillips’ contract. As you can tell, the Browns haven’t committed a lot of money into their linebacker position. Phillips ranks third out of the linebackers in total cap hit, so technically he is being paid starting money relative to the other linebackers on the roster.

It’s usually pretty set in stone how much money a non-first round draft pick is going to make on their rookie contract, but the interesting thing here is that this shows they view the capital they have invested in him as starting linebacker money. The franchise isn’t going to be paying him what he is making if they don’t view him as a potential starter.

Phillips may not play right away, but I will be shocked if he isn’t a starting linebacker by week 17. Mack Wilson and Jacob Phillips should be the starting Will and Mike linebackers by week 17, with Takitaki filling the Sam position when the Browns want to get in a 4-3 front.

With B.J. Goodson only on a one year contract, and the Browns not committed to investing money at the linebacker position anyways, Phillips could end up being one of the highest-paid linebackers on the roster for the entirety of his contract.