NFL Sets Salary Cap At $208.2MM

The long-rumored 2022 salary cap figure emerged Monday. The previously projected figure — $208.2MM — turned out to on-point. This will mark a record one-year jump for the cap, which came in at $182.5MM in 2021.

Last year’s number was a product of the COVID-19 pandemic heavily reducing attendance at some venues or eliminating fans from the equation entirely at others during the 2020 season. Fans returned to stadiums last season, and the league will begin to see the expected growth restored. The type of cap spikes that began kicking in years after the 2011 CBA went into effect figure to return. The impact of the most recent TV deals should be reflected in next year’s cap number, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets.

This is the first time the cap has come in north of $200MM. It promises to allow for a more normal free agency period compared to last year’s, which saw several higher-end talents accept one-year deals. Previously, the $12MM jump from 2005-06 ($85.5MM-$102MM) stood as the largest in cap history.

With the legal tampering period a week away, here is how the cap has grown (or declined) in recent years:

  • 2015: $143.28MM
  • 2016: $155.27MM
  • 2017: $167MM
  • 2018: $177.2MM
  • 2019: $188.2MM
  • 2020: 1982.2MM
  • 2021: $182.5MM
View Comments (2)