The NFL has officially announced the salary cap number for the 2024 season. Teams will have a record $255.4 million to work with.
Not only is this a historically high figure, but it’s also more than what was projected and speculated.
Teams will get an additional $74 million for player benefits, performance-based payment (contract incentives), and money for retired players.
What does this mean for your favorite team? What led to this skyrocket in the salary cap?
What Does This Mean for Your Favorite NFL Team?
Whether your team is a perennial contender or a basement dweller, the salary cap still applies. Sadly, no, it’s not the social construct we like to think it is. The salary cap dictates how much money teams can allocate to their overall roster. All 32 NFL franchises have to maneuver their cap number to $255.4 million or lower by 4 p.m. EST on March 13, 2024. As it currently stands, the Saints have the largest payroll at a whopping $301 million.
To get under the cap, teams can release players or restructure contracts.
What Led to the Sudden Skyrocket in the Salary Cap?
Last offseason, the salary cap was announced at $224.8 million. Today’s new cap figure represents a 13.6 percent increase from last off-season (about $30.6 million). A huge reason the cap skyrocketed this year? Advertisements and attention. In particular, Taylor Swift provided plenty of opportunities for the NFL to generate revenue. According to Apex Marketing Group, Swift fetched the league an estimated $331.5 million between merchandise, digital content, and viewership.
COVID-19 continues to play a factor in the salary cap growth.
“The unprecedented $30 million increase per club in this year’s Salary Cap is the result of the full repayment of all amounts advanced by the clubs and deferred by the players during the Covid pandemic as well as an extraordinary increase in media revenue for the 2024 season,” according to NFL Network insider Tom Pelissero. This means that the cap had a COVID-19 rebound to where it normally should be. Since 2021, the cap has been increasing by about $20 million to $30 million per year.
The unprecedented $30 million increase per club in this year’s Salary Cap is the result of the full repayment of all amounts advanced by the clubs and deferred by the players during the Covid pandemic as well as an extraordinary increase in media revenue for the 2024 season. https://t.co/aSblo3FDND
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) February 23, 2024
The National Football League Players Association informed its agents that they also negotiated a $1 million increase in performance-based payments, including contract incentives and postseason incentives. That new total is $14.147 million per club.
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