The NFL and the NFL Players Association agreed on Wednesday to a salary cap of $ 182.5 million per team in 2021, a long-expected 8% drop from last season, ESPN sources said Adam Schefter.
The drop will force teams to make difficult line-up decisions in the coming days and weeks.
The ceilings have increased in all years since 2011 in conjunction with increased league revenues, but a 92% drop in attendance during the COVID-19 pandemic led to reduced revenues in 2020. The NFL and NFLPA agreed to last summer the limit would not be less than $ 175 million; last month, they informed the teams that it would be at least $ 180 million. It was $ 198.2 million in 2020.
As in previous years, the final number is the result of negotiations between the league and the union about projected revenues and other factors. A source told Dan Graziano of ESPN that without these negotiated projections, the league’s revenue in 2020 would have imposed a cap of around $ 160 million this season.
Teams must comply with the limit by March 17 at 4 pm ET, when the new league year begins. Planning has been underway for a year, but teams are expected to release an exceptionally high number of players in the free agent market to reach below the threshold or create space to meet other escalation needs. The maximum number is likely to slow the growth of high-end business in the market as well.
The pain is expected to be temporary as the frequency increases in 2021 and, more significantly, the NFL is working to finalize new transmission contracts that are expected to raise revenues well beyond pre-pandemic levels.