PLAYER ACCESS PLAN FOR CLEVELAND ANNOUNCED
A player access plan for the Cleveland Browns expansion franchise that begins play in 1999 was announced today by the National Football League.
The plan will enable the Browns to:
"The plan is very strong, like the one we used for Carolina and Jacksonville," said NFL Commissioner PAUL TAGLIABUE. "It is designed to offer the Browns the opportunity to become competitive at an early date. They will be the only expansion team pursuing players on a start-up basis, as opposed to Carolina and Jacksonville when they competed with each other for players as expansion teams in 1995. Just as important, the Browns should have more salary cap room than the other 30 clubs. With the salary cap having grown dramatically between 1995 and 1999, the Browns will have the best ever opportunity to acquire veteran playing talent in the free agency market."
The veteran access draft will be held in mid-February. It will require the existing 30 clubs to submit a list of five veteran players for selection by the Browns. Each club can expose only one player who was placed on injured reserve after the start of the 1998 regular season and one player who has 10 or more years of free agency experience. Neither punters nor kickers may be part of the list. Teams (other than the two Super Bowl teams) must submit their list of players for the veteran draft by January 19. The two Super Bowl participants must submit their list by February 2.
The Browns must select between 30 and 42 players in the veteran draft or a fewer number of players with total salaries of 38 percent of the cap. An existing club can recall one player from its list after one of its players is selected. After a second player is selected from a club, that club can pull back both of its remaining players.
Cleveland will have 28 choices in the NFL Draft over the next two years, 14 in 1999, and 14 in 2000. If the Browns make the playoffs in 1999, the team will not have extra picks in 2000.
In the 1999 draft (April 17-18), the Browns will receive the first pick in each of the seven rounds. They will also receive seven additional picks to be allocated in the following manner:
In the 2000 draft, Cleveland will receive one regular pick per round based on its 1999 record, the same as all other clubs.
The Browns will also receive seven additional picks in the 2000 draft – unless they make the playoffs in 1999, in which case they will receive no extra picks. These picks will vary depending upon Cleveland’s 1999 win-loss percentage, as reflected in the following year’s draft order. These additional picks would be allocated in the following manner:
| Cleveland Draft Position | Extra Picks |
| #1 through #7 | One pick in Rounds 3, 4 and 5. Two picks in Rounds 6 and 7. |
| #8 through #13 | One pick in Rounds 4 and 5. Two picks in Round 6. Three picks in Round 7. |
| #14 through #19 | One pick in Round 5. Two picks in Round 6. Four picks in Round 7. |
| #20 through #31 (playoff teams) | No extra picks. |
The first extra Cleveland pick in any round will fall 16 slots below the club’s original choice in that round, but no lower than the end of the round, after any compensatory picks. The second, third or fourth extra pick in a round will be at the end of the round after any regular compensatory selections.
In 1998 and 1999, Cleveland will be prohibited from trading any draft picks to acquire rights to sign or obtain the contractual release of any non-player personnel (e.g., coach, general manager).
The Browns may begin signing previously-terminated free agents this year. From December 17 (12 days before the applicable date for other NFL teams) until the end of the 1998 regular season, Cleveland may sign a maximum of 10 free agents (not under contract to other teams) to 1999 contracts.
The Browns will be eligible to sign both restricted and unrestricted free agents during next year’s veteran free agency signing period. They will have the same access to veteran free agents as the other 30 clubs.
During the period from mid-February until July 15, however, the Browns’ roster must include at least 30 players acquired from the veteran access draft or a fewer number of players acquired in the veteran draft with total salaries of at least 38 percent of the 1999 salary cap. Any of these players who are released after June 1 are entitled to a supplemental expansion bonus equal to the player’s minimum Collective Bargaining Agreement salary even if he subsequently signs with another team.
Other personnel rules for the Browns:
| Browns | Rest of League |
| Offseason roster limit of 90 | 80 |
| First cutdown to 65 | 60 |
| Final cutdown to 56 | 53 |
| Active/inactive roster limit of 56 through third week of regular season | 53 |
The 1999 Cleveland Browns access plan is basically the same as that followed by the Carolina Panthers and Jacksonville Jaguars in 1995, with the following exceptions: