The NFL salary cap is close to being set for 2021 and teams will certainly have plenty of maneuvering to figure out. Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports is reporting the 2021 NFL salary cap floor will be set at a minimum of $175 million (raised from $165 million) via a league proposal to the NFLPA. This is a huge hit to the expected 2021 salary cap prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, which was estimated at $210 million.
"When the 2020 salary cap was set at $198.2M, one could have est the 2021 cap would be at least $210M. Today's league proposal, if accepted, would set the 2021 cap floor at $175M," Jones said via Twitter.
This cap decrease could significantly impact veterans on the back-end of their contacts looking for a final contract and players on the back-end of their rookie deals looking for a big pay raise on their second contract.
There will be no change to the 2020 cap under this proposal, but the minimum cap was raised from $165 million to $175 million under this proposal. The league also dropped its request for a salary cap reduction of $8 million in 2020, per NFL Network's Tom Pelissero.
If revenues are better than expected, the minimum salary cap could increase. This is all contingent on the league potentially having games with fans. Training camp will also start on time if the players ratify the current proposal, which appears to be coming based on this statement released by the NFLPA.
"The NFLPA Executive Committee voted unanimously to recommend the proposed changes to the CBA."
