The NFL salary cap will hit a record $255.4 million per team in 2024. The league announced Friday that the salary cap will increase by $30.6 million from 2023, when the NFL settled at $224.8 million.
With the cap set, teams around the league can begin planning their offseason and consider signings, releases, trades, and restructures.
NFL Sets 2024 Salary Cap at $255.4 Million
The NFL salary cap — determined by accounting for all the league’s revenues, splitting the pot between owners and players, then allocating a set amount per team — almost always rises by a significant amount each year.
The only time the cap decreased in recent memory was during the 2021 season, when the NFL was sorting through the implications of the COVID-19 pandemic. With no fans allowed in stadiums in 2020, revenues were severely impacted, so the salary cap was reduced by nearly 8%.
This year’s $30+ million increase represents the most significant salary cap jump in league history. Repayment of “all amounts advanced by the club and deferred by the players during the COVID pandemic,” plus additional media revenue, led to the bump, per NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero.
Here’s how the cap has looked over the past decade:
- 2024: $255.4 million
- 2023: $224.8 million
- 2022: $208.2 million
- 2021: $182.5 million
- 2020: $198.2 million
- 2019: $188.2 million
- 2018: $177.2 million
- 2017: $167 million
- 2016: $155.27 million
- 2015: $143.28 million
Which NFL Teams Have the Most and Least Cap Space in 2023?
With the NFL salary cap officially set, we have a solidified idea of which teams will have the most cap space in 2024. While not every club spends up to the cap, the amount of cap space owned by each team will give us a sense of how the offseason could unfold and who the major players will be.
Here are the teams with the most cap space heading into next year:
- Washington Commanders: $87.05 million
- New England Patriots: $82.92 million
- Chicago Bears: $80.39 million
Chicago (No. 1), Washington (No. 2), and New England (No. 3) not only own the most cap space in the NFL, but they hold the top three picks in the 2024 NFL Draft. All three clubs would walk away with a franchise quarterback in late April, but they’ll have an opportunity to supplement their rosters in free agency before the draft occurs.
On the other side of the ledger, here are the clubs with the least cap space in 2023, all of whom are in the red:
- Buffalo Bills: -$41.74 million
- New Orleans Saints: -$40.07 million
- Miami Dolphins: -$38.49 million
The additional cap space gained on Friday will help Buffalo, New Orleans, and Miami get closer to becoming compliant by the start of the new league year in mid-March.
KEEP READING: 2024 NFL Free Agency Predictions
But cap space is all relative. With every other team around the NFL seeing the same increase, the Bills, Saints, and Dolphins will still likely have to sit out much of the free agent period.
Miss football? The 2024 NFL Draft is almost here, boss. Pro Football Network has you covered with everything from team draft needs to the Top 100 prospects available. Plus, fire up PFN’s Mock Draft Simulator to put yourself in the general manager’s seat and make all the calls!