Ravens Find Success Despite Shying Away from Big Spending in Free Agency

OWINGS MILLS, Md. — The Ravens have become a model for other NFL franchises because of their ability to develop players from the draft.

Even though Baltimore is one of the most frugal spenders in free agency, the organization has made the playoffs in each of the past three years and has two Super-Bowl titles.

Over The Cap examined the overall spending of teams in free agency stacked against their records from 2017-2020 and found there isn't much correlation between big spending in the open market and wins.

Looking at the impact of free agent spending on team performance from 2017 to 2020 (its an ugly look for the Jets)https://t.co/bk93I03Ifk pic.twitter.com/T0J8qBFlfx
— Jason_OTC (@Jason_OTC) February 27, 2021

The Ravens are currently ranked 27th in the NFL with free-agency spending ($69.97 million) over the past four years, according to the latest statistics by OvertheCap.com. The Pittsburgh Steelers ($42.49 million) have spent the least followed by the Dallas Cowboys ($65.97 million), New England Patriots ($66.45 million) and Atlanta Falcons ($66.59 million).

The Bills ($174.94 million), Jets ($170.88 million), Raiders ($168.29 million), Lions ($161.99 million) and Jaguars ($153.84 million) have spent the most. The Jaguars (2017-18, and Bills (2017-18, 2019-20, 2020-21) are the only teams among that group that have made the playoffs in the past four seasons.

"The Steelers have by far spent the least in the NFL adding just $42 million to the team," OvertheCap.com's Jason Fitzgerald wrote. "Dallas is the next lowest spender at $66 million, followed by the Patriots, Falcons, and Ravens as teams not adding much overall in free agency.

"Considering the Patriots, Steelers, and Ravens have been so successful it is no surprise that their low spending has produced the best value. The Rams and Chiefs would be the other two teams to get great bang for the buck."

To view the entire graph, click here.