NFL teams now have a reference point when it comes to how much money they will have to spend when the new league year officially begins on March 12.
The league informed teams on Wednesday that the salary cap for the 2025 season will fall in the range of $277.5 million and $281.5 million, according to ESPN. That’s a significant increase from last year’s salary cap of $255.4 million and the 2023 salary cap of $224.8 million.
The NFL’s salary cap will increase by at least $53 million over the last two years. The salary cap, which actually decreased in 2021 due to the impacts of COVID-19, crossed the $200 million mark for the first time in 2022. This year’s cap could end up being $100 million more than it was in 2021, when the cap was $182.5 million.
NFL salary cap by year since 2016
| Year | Salary Cap |
|---|---|
|
2016 |
$155.27 million |
|
2017 |
$167 million |
|
2018 |
$177.2 milion |
|
2019 |
$188.2 million |
|
2020 |
$198.2 million |
|
2021 |
$182.5 million |
|
2022 |
$208.2 million |
|
2023 |
$224.8 million |
|
2024 |
$255.4 million |
|
2025 |
$277.5 million-$281.5 million |
Several factors have led to the NFL’s vastly increased salary cap, including the NFL’s most recent TV rights deals with broadcast partners. Last year’s $30 million salary cap increase was the result of the full repayment of all amounts advanced by NFL teams and deferred by the players during the COVID-19 pandemic as well as an “extraordinary” increase in media revenue for the 2024 season, according to the league’s operations site.
Obviously, a bigger salary cap is good news for each of the NFL’s 32 teams. It’s especially good for teams like the Cincinnati Bengals, who have several high-profile players who they are trying to re-sign, including wideouts Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins.
