• Loading stock data...
Saturday, August 2, 2025
Tuned In returns to NYC on September 16. Hear from the biggest names in sports media. Click here to get your spot

NFL Salary Cap Sees Second Significant Spike in As Many Years

The NFL salary cap has increased by more than $20 million in each of the past two seasons.

Nov 3, 2024; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott (4) scrambles against the Atlanta Falcons in the third quarter at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Brett Davis-Imagn Images

The NFL salary cap will get a significant bump for the second straight year. 

The league informed teams Wednesday that the per-team cap would be between $277.5 million and $281.5 million following negotiations between the NFL and its players’ association, according to ESPN. 

In 2024, the cap saw its largest dollar increase in its history when it rose from $224.8 million to $255.4 million—a 13% increase. Regardless of the final figure, this year’s increase means the cap rose by at least $53 million in the past two seasons. The league’s 11-year, $111 billion media-rights deal, which was signed in 2021, is part of the reason for the recent spike. 

The continued rise of the salary cap should make it easier for teams to retain key players with more financial space to work with. For a team like the Bengals, which currently has two disgruntled receivers on its roster, the higher cap makes it easier to keep both players. 

The NFL recalculates the cap annually based on a formula that is collectively bargained and factors in league revenues. The figure isn’t finalized until the league and the NFLPA tweak the number. 

In 2024, the formula’s figure was $265.4 million, $10 million more than the final cap figure. The NFL told teams Wednesday the difference was because of a 2024 agreement between the two sides that divided the $10 million between the performance-based pay pool ($1 million)—which was paid out this past season—and a “smoothing adjustment” of $9 million, according to ESPN. 

The NFLPA agreed to the smoothing adjustment, ESPN reported, in order to avoid a disproportionate spike in the cap year over year, which would benefit players up for new contracts in 2024, but not 2025. 

The holdup this year, according to the NFL’s memo, is because the union is still deciding how it wants to recover the $9 million smoothing adjustment from last year’s cap discussions. The 2024 agreement allows the union to recoup as much as half the amount, or $4.5 million this year and the remaining amount in the 2026 season. The number the NFLPA lands on will be added to this year’s salary cap figure, hence the range the NFL gave teams Wednesday. 

The league told teams in its memo that it is expecting to conclude negotiations with the union next week, in time for the start of the new league year, which coincides with the start of free agency at 4 p.m. ET on March 12.

Linkedin
Whatsapp
Copy Link
Link Copied
Link Copied

What to Read

Commanders Seal Stadium Deal As D.C. Approves $1.1B in Funding

The NFL team’s return to its prior home receives key political support.

Belichick Bump Creating Record UNC Ticket Prices

The cost of seeing the NFL legend’s college coaching debut is soaring.

Micah Parsons Requests Trade From Cowboys As Contract Talks Stall

The defensive end has been seeking a new contract.
McLaurin

Terry McLaurin Asks Out of Washington Amid Contract Standoff

McLaurin is in the final year of a three-year, $68 million contract. 

Featured Today

Coco Gauff at New York Liberty

How the New York Liberty Became the Hottest Ticket in Town

Once banished to the burbs, the Libs are now Brooklyn’s marquee attraction.
Las Vegas sign
July 29, 2025

College Sports Embracing Vegas After Years of Cold Shoulder

The Big Ten became the latest newcomer to Sin City.
2000, Jupiter, FL, USA; FILE PHOTO; Montreal Expos pitcher Hideki Irabu in action on the mound against the New York Mets at Roger Dean Stadium during Spring Training
July 28, 2025

Dead Sports Franchises Are Alive and Well on Twitter

The Expos, Sonics, and Whalers have active social media accounts.
Limited Hype
July 27, 2025

Sneaker Reselling Was Once Easy Money. Success Is Now Complicated

Vendors need to evolve what they’re selling and how they do it.

Cubs Land 2027 MLB All-Star Game After Lengthy Pursuit

MLB will bring the Midsummer Classic to one of baseball’s cherished ballparks.
Michael Johnson
exclusive
July 31, 2025

Grand Slam Track Misses Deadline to Pay Athletes $3 Million

The league said it would pay athletes for their Kingston meet Thursday.
August 1, 2025

Ex-NBPA Chief on WNBA CBA Challenges, NBA Stake in League

Tamika Tremaglio was a consultant for the 2020 WNBA CBA.
Sponsored

Game On: Portfolio Players Stories, Brought to You by E*TRADE from Morgan Stanley

Dealmaker Jeffrey Kaplan maps the evolution of sports as an asset class
Jul 26, 2025; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Twins shortstop Carlos Correa (4) walks to the dugout after the ninth inning against the Washington Nationals at Target Field.
July 31, 2025

MLB’s Biggest Buyers in Frantic Deadline Weren’t Top Markets

Teams besides the Dodgers, Mets, and Yankees dominate MLB’s trade deadline.
Happy Gilmore 2
July 31, 2025

Is ‘Happy Gilmore 2’ Really About LIV vs. PGA Tour?

The movie’s main plotline may sound familiar to many golf fans.
Bristol Motor Speedway
July 31, 2025

MLB’s Long Road to Its Most Unusual Game Yet

The special-event game features a unique blending of baseball and racing.
July 31, 2025

NFL Preseason Getting Earliest Kickoff in 25 Years

The Lions and Chargers face off in the Pro Football Hall of Fame Game.