Initial salary cap projections pointed to a potential $20MM increase, and a recent report revealed the 2024 NFL spending ceiling could check in higher than expected. Both turned out to be conservative estimates.
The NFL announced Friday the cap will settle at $255.4MM, NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero reports. That represents a record-setting single-year increase. The 2023 cap came in at $224.8MM, marking a 13.6% spike. This provides teams with more flexibility this year and players with increased opportunities.
[RELATED: 2024 Franchise/Transition Tag Numbers]
Friday’s number shatters the previous single-year record for a cap increase. The previous instance occurred in 2022, when the league’s salary ceiling rose by more than $26MM. That came, however, after only the second-ever cap decrease. After the COVID-19 pandemic — which brought fanless venues or significantly reduced capacities — led to the cap dropping by $16MM from 2021 to ’22, it ballooned by $26MM before returning on its course. Even as the cap had been rising since that one-year reduction, this represents an unexpected boom.
Teams were indeed working with models that settled the 2024 cap between $242-$245MM, ESPN.com’s Dan Graziano notes, making Friday’s final number a significant development as teams make their final preparations for free agency. This will help teams afford some costs they may have previously determined unfeasible while boosting the values of this year’s top free agents. It also introduces another complication for teams negotiating landmark extensions with top talent.
Prior to the pandemic becoming a reality, the CBA negotiations — complete with the expected finalizations of new TV deals soon after — did paint a picture of unprecedented cap growth. A February 2020 report hinted at a monster cap increase by the mid-2020s. While nothing on the $300MM radar has emerged, the 2020 CBA is bringing cap growth that far outpaces the 2011 agreement, which had settled in at approximately $10MM-per-year climbs once growth was restored around the mid-2010s.
The 2021 television deals and YouTube TV’s $2 billion NFL Sunday Ticket agreement, along with gambling partnerships and full repayment of COVID-19-related deferrals, collectively produced this spike. While it was rumored the league sought a more gradual rise, NFL-NFLPA negotiations produced this whopping number. As a result, franchise tag numbers and the four-tiered fifth-year option salary structure — for the 2021 first-round contingent — are locked in.
Prior to the 2020 CBA, the highest single-year cap increase occurred in 2006. That year’s CBA brought an approximately $17MM climb — to $102MM — from 2005. But the 2011 CBA leveled off growth for a stretch, leading to the cap residing between $116MM and $124MM for a five-year period (2008-13). We are in a different era now. The 2014 offseason increased the cap by $10MM from that previous years-long range; we are now more than $120MM beyond that number.
Here are the NFL’s salary caps over the past two CBAs:
- 2011: $120.4MM
- 2012: $120.6MM
- 2013: $123.6MM
- 2014: $133MM
- 2015: $143.3MM
- 2016: $155.3MM
- 2017: $167MM
- 2018: $177.2MM
- 2019: $188.2MM
- 2020: $198.2MM
- 2021: $182.5MM
- 2022: $208.2MM
- 2023: $224.8MM
- 2024: $255.4MM
Go lions
I’m glad for this, between the Lindsley restructure and the extra cap space the Chargers cap situation isn’t looking nearly as bad as it was
This could really help the Saints
They’re in salary cap hell for awhile
Yes, now they’re only $225 million over at the moment…
Everyone is about to get paid big money in free agency this year…except RBs.
This is huge. Now QBs like cousins or Russ have even more options for teams willing to take them on. So many unpredictable events this league year. Wonder who goes where and what teams does what.
Wilson isn’t going to sign a large contract. I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if he didn’t okay this season.
The likely scenario is more teams may avoid using as many contract tricks this year to pay down their future cap obligations. Quite a few teams used that accounting play the past couple of years knowing the cap would eventually go back up.
True
Count me as being skeptical. It’s just human nature to keep using tricks that have worked for you in the past.
Have to pay the bill sometime. That was Tampa in 2023
Explain
Kirk Cousins and Baker Mayfield are grinning ear to ear right now.
This hurts all the teams that were in a good cap situation coming into the offseason. They have more money under the cap as well, but the chances on them landing a specific free agent target just went down as more teams will be in the mix.
It benefits the players. Only 53 guys get paid on each team and can split another $640 Million (minus previous years’ cap overages)
Apparently everybody loves Wal-mart.
Not a fan of the current model where all teams get an equal revenue share and the same salary cap ceiling. It should be altered so that organizations that actually make an effort to put a quality product on the field get rewarded with a bit more. As it currently stands, there is no incentive at all for owners to improve their product and the fans are the ones that get shafted because of that.
I hear what you’re saying, but isn’t your model what MLB does? The rich teams, Boston, NY teams, LA etc, pay a luxury tax to the league while the small market teams; Pit, KC, Oak etc. are almost always in last place of their division?
@ arty
I’m not advocating a MLB model because it’s too extreme and as you stated based on market size rather than actual team performance. The fact remains that owners benefitting regardless of whether they make an effort to improve their product or not is something fans shouldn’t have to tolerate.
There’s a minimum already, something like 90% of the cap, but few NFL fans want to see these dynasties with rich owners (unless it’s their team). Green Bay Cincinnati and Denver would eventually fail or need to be sold to be competitive
Every bad GM just breathed a huge sigh of relief.
So now like 5 teams are currently under the cap for ’25, instead of 2..?