Speaking to reporters today, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said the NFL’s 2017 salary cap could rise by as much as $15MM per team, according to Kyle Meinke of MLive.com (Twitter link). Given that the 2016 cap was $155.27MM, next year’s cap could approach — or exceed — the $170MM mark.
The salary cap will continue the incredible upward trajectory it has been on since 2013. Here’s what the league’s salary cap has looked like over the last few years:
- 2013: $123MM
- 2014: $133MM
- 2015: $143.28MM
- 2016: $155.27MM
The official salary cap figure — which affects not only teams’ roster moves for the entire season, but the figures used in franchise/transition tag calculations — will be announced before the new league year begins in early March. Previous reports have indicated the cap could stay as low as $163-165MM, but increasing league revenues will push that figure up.
Using a projected salary cap of $168MM, Joel Corry of CBSSports.com predicted the franchise/transition tender numbers earlier this year, but if the cap rises to $170MM or more, those totals would increase as well.