We heard earlier this week that the lowest the salary cap would be was $180MM. The initial minimum cap had been reported to be $175MM, so that increase led to some speculation that the actual salary cap could end up being $190MM+.
That would’ve meant there wouldn’t have been that dramatic of a decrease from last year’s cap of $198.2MM, but that speculation looks to have been a bit optimistic. The number most likely won’t reach $185MM and could end up between $182-183MM, a source told Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com.
The cap had been steadily increasing in recent years, but obviously the COVID-19 pandemic halted that. Revenue loss as a result of the pandemic was always going to send the cap down for 2021, it was only a question of how much, and now we appear to more or less have our answer.
It looks like teams will each have around $15MM less to play with this season, which will give some squads some headaches. While there will still be a lot of shuffling required for teams to get under the number, it sounds like a true disaster was averted.
The initial plan of $175MM was ditched after some “aggressive lobbying” from teams, Florio writes. A source told him that had it been $175MM, it would’ve been chaos as teams would have “flooded the market” with veteran players they cut to get down under the cap.s
A $15 million cut is still going to do plenty of damage to many teams that were close to the $198M Cap
Definitely not a good year to be a free agent
I think some players might want the Franchise Tag this time around.
Buyers market. Teams that have 30+ mill will get players at 60 cents on the dollar.
Jerry Jones’ gas company gouging freezing people in Texas doesn’t factor directly into the cap formula or else it would have gone up more.
Just dumb on many levels
It’s actually pretty smart if you have no morals.
Turns out freezing people will pay more for gas in order to live.
Jerry’s making $$$.
Floor of $180 and cap of $183. Talk about threading the needle.
Yeah that doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to me either
if so many teams are in cap hell why not just raise the cap but perhaps balance it out with a touch of revenue sharing.
The solution shouldn’t be a bail out for teams that can’t manage their cap/give out bad contracts. Teams like the Saints are in cap hell because they’ve been kicking the can down the road for years.
Under the current CBA, the players already have a revenue share of something like 47 or 48% don’t they?
Even to a casual observer, the salary cap (regardless of floor level), is a badly flawed entity. Generally you have 3 players sharing a third of the pie while the other 52 roster players fight over what remains. That is not an equitable system that matches reward with value or performance.
Edlemon – you couldn’t be wrong! The salary cap is a major part of why the NFL is king of all sports. There is true revenue sharing; everyone has an equal chance; unlike baseball or basketball. I don’t think 3 players make $90 million either, so that’s a bit of an exaggeration.
Edlemon – you couldn’t be more wrong; or put it this way, those thinking the salary cap is flawed are maybe 5% of the sports fans in the country. It’s a large part of why the NFL is king. True revenue sharing, true competitive balance. And 3 players making a third of the pie? Maybe on 1-2 teams; only a few QB’s are near or over $30 mm & only a few EDGE rushers, OL, & WR’s are near or over $20mm. How a team divides their pie is the beauty of the whole thing.
I don’t think this DIVAs should be making this much money. All they do any way is blow it on drugs or bet it away. Talking about golden spoon babies!!!
Locotrouble –
Apparently your Mommy and Daddy didn’t teach you the dangers of stereotyping and/or discrimination. There are good and bad as well as smart or ignorant people in any large group. Based on your comment, I know where I would place you, but I’m not going to assume the same of your friends and family members. Try to open your mind a little bit
At KCJ: maybe if the NFL did something besides looking the other way it would be different but no they don’t care.
You clearly have no idea what you’re talking about…. Playing pro football can dramatically decrease your life expectancy so I don’t think they are overpaid by any means. What’s your life worth exactly?