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Sunday, January 18, 2026

NFL Sets Salary Cap at Record $208.2M

  • The NFL has set its salary cap for all 32 teams for the 2022 season.
  • The cap is set at $208.2 million.
NFL-Salary-Cap
Jason Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports/Design: Alex Brooks

The NFL has set its salary cap for all 32 teams at $208.2 million for the 2022 season, marking the first time in league history that the cap has exceeded $200 million. 

Based on league revenues, the cap took a hit for only the second time in history in 2021 due to lost revenue from COVID, dropping to $182.5 million from $198.2 million in 2020.

  • Adding in benefits, teams will have a total player cost of $284.3 million
  • Teams are required to be at or under the cap by March 16 — the official start of the 2022 league year. 

The NFL also set its salaries for players who receive franchise tags, which allow teams to bring back one player who is set to be an unrestricted free agent for another year if certain conditions are met. 

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In March 2021, the NFL agreed to $113 billion in new media rights deals with CBS, NBC, Disney, FOX, and Amazon over 11 seasons, beginning in 2023. 

The NFL is also fielding offers for the “NFL Sunday Ticket” package for out-of-market games and livestreaming games on mobile devices.

Apple is contemplating scooping up available media rights to the league along with a stake in NFL Media in a potential multibillion-dollar deal, sources tell Front Office Sports.

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