NFL teams are about to get a little more spending money for the upcoming off-season as the salary cap is projected to increase to $224.8 million per club, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero.
This is a significant increase from the 2022 salary cap which was $208.2 million. In 2021, the cap was adjusted to $182.5 million because of the decrease in revenue during the COVID-19 pandemic. Before that, it was at $198.2 million in 2020 and $188.2 million in 2019.
Back on Dec. 4, NFL Network reported that the cap could exceed $220 million but there was uncertainty regarding revenue from the league’s new TV deals and payouts to players that were deferred during the pandemic.
In the league’s collective bargaining agreement that was signed back in 2020, the salary cap and player benefits are tied in part to increases from the TV deals, with a “media kicker” increasing players’ share of projected revenue from 48 per cent up to as much as 48.8 per cent.
Another factor in the increase in the salary cap is the addition of a 17th regular season game and the league’s expanded playoff format which added an extra Wild Card team from each conference in 2021.
The negotiating period for free agents opens on March 13 at noon ET while the 2023 league year will officially kick off at 4 p.m. ET on March 15.