NFL teams have been informed that the salary cap will be at a record figure this year with teams able to spend as much as $279.2 million – the highest-ever number.
The cap has grown over $20 million for the second consecutive season, as teams prepare to make moves in free agency in less than two weeks. Planning will now become more detailed with the figure teams are working with confirmed.
The cap jumping so high has already allowed teams to make several moves that many predicted they wouldn’t be able to, with the Rams bringing Matthew Stafford back to a new deal, the Chiefs franchise-tagging Trey Smith and the Bengals doing the same with Tee Higgins.
Teams have been able to meet with agents for the first time this week at the Scouting Combine as they attempt to gauge how much certain free agents will be looking to get on the open market once March 10 rolls around.
While perhaps knowing how much players will want in free agency, they cannot make offers to players until March 10, when they are allowed to speak to them for the first time before being able to officially sign them on March 12.
Teams with most salary cap
The Pats have money to spend on their roster to help Drake Maye (
Getty Images)
1) New England Patriots: $127 million
2) Las Vegas Raiders: $96 million
3) Washington Commanders: $81 million
4) Chicago Bears: $79 million
5) Arizona Cardinals: $78 million
Teams with least salary cap
1) New Orleans Saints: -$47 million
2) Cleveland Browns: -$22 million
3) Kansas City Chiefs: – $17 million
4) Buffalo Bills: -$10 million
5) Seattle Seahawks: -$6 million
Meanwhile, the Saints are in a rough spot (
AP)
Does this mean teams have this amount to spend and are these numbers final?
While some teams have much more available cap space open to them right now, it wouldn’t be at all surprising a team who currently are in the red spend more money than those in the black.
That’s because cap versatility is much more important than available cap space at this point. Teams have only just begun making moves to their rosters for the 2025 season, with many being able to open up millions with simple moves, such as roster cuts, reconstructing deals and trades.
Teams such as the Seahawks and Bills have enough versatility to open up around $50 million in cap space, without having to lose any of their top performers. This is due to the nature of contracts they have with their players, while perhaps not needing to sign any players to huge extensions.
However, other teams may have to give players significant new deals to keep their star players, while also seeing a players cap hit rise exponentially. Therefore, while the Chiefs are in the red, don’t be surprise if they make some big free agency moves themselves.
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