A few figures about the 2018 NFL salary cap have emerged over the past few months. Now that the date a universal number will lock in as the new salary ceiling, a more specific figure has surfaced.
The 2018 cap will exceed $178MM and may come in north of $179MM, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk reports. If the cap settles north of $179MM, it would mark a record increase in the cap era.
This report comes after a December estimation the cap would fall between $174-$178MM. A January report pegged the new cap as potentially being higher than $180MM, and this one doesn’t necessarily refute that. But this marks the most specific range to date about the ’18 cap. The NFL and NFLPA decided on a $167MM cap last year, and the new number will emerge soon.
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
- 2017: $167MM
Florio notes that despite a decline in ratings, the NFL will likely see continued growth in future spending allotments. A growth in the cost of the Thursday Night Football package — from $450MM annually to at least $550MM — illustrates the commodity the league remains.