I repaired reels for many years at Clays Sporting Goods in Nashville
after my retirement. Clays is now closed. I know of no instance of a
spool for a front drag reel that did not include new drag washers.
Believe me, it is much easier to keep a front drag working properly. It
is also much easier and less expensive to rebuild a front drag.

I would suggest that when you look at reels, ask to see an extra spool
and see for yourself. If you ever find a new spool that does not include
the drag, I wish you would post the manufacturer here. I have several
Penn, Shimano, and Diawa reels with extra spools for each and all have
their own drags. If you are fishing and want to change line sizes by
changing spools, it would be rather cumbersome to have to remove washers
from one spool and replace them on another.

Well, for sure, the spare spools provided with new Daiwa reels (Regal-Zs) do
not have drags. As to ordering a spare spool, there are nine separate part
numbers that comprise the entire drag and spool. So it certainly seems to me
that a spool with drag would cost considerably more than just literally a
spool. If I want to change spools, there's no removal of washers as such.
It's just a matter of unscrewing the drag knob and putting it on the other
spool. I'm no mechanic, but apparently the washers are part of that drag
knob.