3. Oakland Raiders ($47,085,414)
The Raiders were one bad break away from potentially challenging the best in the AFC last year.
Assuming Derek Carr returns healthy and gets back to slinging the ball around at an elite level, the Raiders are going to be very tough to beat this next year. Finishing with a record of 12-4, Oakland surpassed all expectations before losing Carr to injury. Free agents are going to find the Raiders to be quite attractive, both in terms of their spending cash and their potential for greatness.
Though, it should be noted that the Raiders are making it a priority to lock up Carr and Khalil Mack up on long-term deals (more on that here), which will eat into their overall money available somewhat.
The big area of need for Oakland is defensive help. This was an area of weakness all year long, but Carr’s ability to make things happen late in games covered up the defense’s transgressions. Then, when he wasn’t there to bail them out, this unit collapsed in the wild card round against none other than Brock Osweiler.
Bringing in some experienced defensive backs will be beneficial, as will beefing up the team’s defensive line — Calais Campbell would be a tremendous addition. Mack is amazing, but he needs help up front. Thankfully, the Raiders have the funds to make a few impact moves and improve their roster.