Three Browns’ get PPE salary increase in 2025 due to playing time

A breakdown of why several Browns players are earning a PPE for the upcoming season.

It’s that time of year again in which we look at which members of the Cleveland Browns earned or were eligible for the “proven performance escalator (PPE).”

Under the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), there are three different “levels” in which players can qualify for a fourth-year salary bump, each one with a different pay grade. The player will receive the most lucrative level they are eligible for. Let’s dig into the levels:

Level 1 PPE

• For players selected in rounds 3-7, if they play in 35% of the snaps in two of three seasons, or 35% of the team’s cumulative snaps over three seasons, they get the PPE.
• If the player is a second-round pick, they have a different threshold: 60% of the snaps are required.
• For players earning the Level 1 PPE, their base salary in the final year of their contract will increase to the original round tender amount, which is estimated to be $3.325 million.

Level 2 PPE

• This includes players from rounds 2-7. If they participated in 55% of the team’s snaps in all three seasons, they earn the Level 2 PPE.
• The Level 2 PPE is very similar to the Level 1 PPE financially: it is the same amount ($3.325 million), plus $250,000. Therefore, their base salary would be $3.575 million.

Level 3 PPE

• This is the most lucrative one. If a player from rounds 2-7 is nominated to the Pro Bowl on the original ballot in any of their first three seasons, they earn the Level 3 PPE.
• The Level 3 PPE is worth the equivalent of a second-round RFA tender, which is estimated to be about $5.217 million this year.

Who Was Eligible This Year?

Since the criteria waits three years, that means we have to look back at players from the 2022 NFL Draft. The players on the Cleveland Browns who would have been eligible for the escalator are: RB Jerome Ford, WR David Bell, WR Michael Woods, DE Alex Wright, and CB Martin Emerson. Players from the 2021 NFL Draft who came from other teams would also be eligible. I don’t believe that applies to anyone for Cleveland.

Let’s start with RB Jerome Ford, the team’s fifth-round pick in 2022. He was seldom used as a rookie, since the tandem of Nick Chubb and Jerome Ford received the majority of the workload. Over the past two years, due to the injury suffered by Chubb, Ford basically became the team’s lead back, receiving 50.7% and 44.6% of the snaps. Even though his cumulative percentage (32.5%) over the three seasons was below 35%, because he played over 35% in two of his three seasons, he qualified for a Level 1 PPE.

Ford was originally set to make $1.1 million in base salary in 2025. With the Level 1 PPE, the base salary...