After a significant reduction in 2021, the NFL’s salary cap is back on the rise. This year brought a record spike, which produced some windfalls — particularly along the offensive and defensive lines — in the days that followed. More growth is coming, but not quite as much as what 2024 brought.
This year produced a $30.6MM spike, raising the league’s salary ceiling to $255.4MM. The NFL is not planning to offer teams a projection this year, marking a deviation from the norm, but NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport does indicate where clubs are expecting next year’s number to sit . Teams are planning for the 2025 cap to come in between $265-$275MM.
A $10MM increase would be in line with the annual jumps during the 2011 CBA, but since the COVID-19 pandemic brought a 2021 reduction, the 2020 CBA — thanks in part to the expanded playoff bracket, 17th regular-season game and a new round of TV deals — has produced bigger leaps.
At this time last year, clubs were a bit more pessimistic on the 2024 cap. An expectation pointed to a $240MM salary ceiling for this year. That turned out to be well off the actual number, a development the Giants’ Hard Knocks: Offseason series revealed caught their GM (Joe Schoen) by surprise. We did hear earlier this offseason that at least one team, the Cowboys, did not expect similar cap growth for 2025. A May report predicted around a $10MM climb, which would certainly not rival what happened this year. That would affect teams’ plans for free agency and extensions.
The media kicker in the 2020 CBA, which can raise the players’ revenue share from 48% to 48.8%, played a role in this year’s cap spike. The NFL still, however, has not yet moved away from the effects of COVID. The pandemic leading to fanless stadiums (in many cases) and capped attendance at others in 2020 produced a $15.7MM cap reduction in 2021. Only the 2011 season, which came after a lockout and an uncapped 2010, had previously brought a decline. The 2025 offseason, though, is believed to be the final year in which the effects from the pandemic impact the NFL’s salary cap, ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter notes.
Teams generally know what the cap will be around the Combine, leaving some mystery ahead. A $9MM deferment will affect the 2025 and ’26 caps, Rapoport adds, noting that the NFL and NFLPA agreed to keep that money from being piled onto this year’s record number. Otherwise, the NFL’s 2024 cap would have passed $260MM.
Franchise and transition tag numbers, fifth-year option figures, RFA tender prices and other matters will be determined as a result of where the cap lands. Here is where the cap has stood in each year during the past two CBAs:
- 2011: $120.4MM
- 2012: $120.6MM
- 2013: $123.6MM
- 2014: $133MM
- 2015: $143.3MM
- 2016: $155.3MM
- 2017: $167MM
- 2018: $177.2MM
- 2019: $188.2MM
- 2020: $198.2MM
- 2021: $182.5MM
- 2022: $208.2MM
- 2023: $224.8MM
- 2024: $255.4MM
Further proof that NFL is the king of all sports and it’s not even up for debate.
King in the US market but they are still playing catch up. I think the salary will keep climbing and eventually stop. As popular as NFL is their players are not sniffing the MLB and NBA money. I don’t get into those sports until playoffs maybe, people talk about their poor ratings but they are more international and doing something right for having less physical impact.
@AncientOne…Technically, the top 15 QB’s are making more per season than anybody in the MLB minus Shohei Ohtani. And that comes with a major caveat. It’s the length of the MLB contracts and full guarantees that differentiate the two leagues.
raz427 — So great statement and awesome research topic.
Turns out you are correct. The Global Sports Market is expected to meet $700 billion in 2026. I thought for sure that soccer was going to be the leader, but nope currently the NFL is the Global leader with revenue earned at $17 billion. The NFL’s top three revenue sources are broadcasting rights, gambling, and sponsorship. The English Premier League actually ranks at 5h. Much to my surprise the Indian Premier League (IPL) came in second, that’s a Cricket League that grossed $9.5 billion last year.
raz427 thank you, learned a lot.
Thank you for educating me. Obviously I was talking about US sports only, since the monies are involving USD and not other currency.
Raiders are looking good with the new adjustment. They are eating $50 million this year and $29 million in 2025. Still paying Jimmy G and Adams. Looking at just under $90 million in effective cap space.
A top three pic in the draft and money to shore up the O-Line and secondary.
Yeah, if they can get the coach and QB right, there are good bones to a team there. And it seems like in another season Parham and JPJ is a nice young pair of homegrown linemen, if they can stay healthy, so it’s not like the line is a total rebuild.
But you only have 36 players under contract next year, so some of that money is gonna have to be spent bringing new people in or resigning your free agents. Sorry about that guy.
The NFL has more than doubled it’s payroll spending since 2011 and yet the on field product they provide to customers hasn’t improved at all. In what other business sector could you do that a still reap enormous profits?