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Chiefs owner Clark Hunt said the final salary cap for 2021 may not be known until hours before the start of the league year. Evidence is mounting that it will be in the $ 180 million range.
PFT reported last month that, with a guaranteed floor of $ 175 million, there was a belief that the final number would be slightly higher. Earlier today, ESPN’s Adam Schefter supported that idea, estimating it in the range of $ 180 million to $ 181 million.
Few still need to understand the consequences of what would be a $ 18.2 million reduction per team from last year’s number. Teams routinely plan their contracts on the assumption that the cap will continue to increase. A reduction to $ 180 million will force several teams to eliminate several veteran players to reach the new roof.
Some teams can’t wait for that to happen, because they have the upper limit to target veterans who will suddenly become free agents. Teams in a limit crisis obviously prefer the limit to be higher.
Therefore, before the NFL and the NFL Players Association can negotiate a new limit, teams must define a preferred figure. Some teams will not be happy if they fall that far. Many players who do not understand what is to come will also not be happy.
The stars will still get their money. Newbies will still get their money. Veterans of the broad NFL middle class may end up screwing themselves, as the losses from the ongoing pandemic reached their limit in 2021.
Whether they are cut off and forced to look elsewhere for something / anything, or are pressured to receive less to stay where they are, or are free agents who do not realize that money will not flow as it normally does, 2021 will potentially be a difficult year for cutting players between the best of the best and young people on a salary scale.