NFL salary cap rises to record $255.4M

Field Level Media|published: Fri 23rd February, 14:12 2024

Dec 21, 2023; Inglewood, California, USA; The NFL shield lgo on the field at SoFi Stadium. credits: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

The 2024 salary cap surged to a record $255.4 million per team, up more than $30 million from last season.

The NFL made the massive increase official on Friday and announced each club will have $74 million for player benefits, which includes both money for performance incentives and benefits for retirees to raise the total player personnel spending to $329.4 million per team.

Teams had a salary cap of $224.8 million in 2023 and projections of a cap limit around $240 million were off by more than 50 percent. The increase in spending is due to new media deals as well as a finalizing of the books to remove advances and deferrals necessitated by the pandemic from the league ledger.

With the new cap set, only six teams were over the salary cap for 2024 as of Friday. That includes the New Orleans Saints, who have a league-high $321 million on the books for player contracts in 2024.

The Washington Commanders have nearly $100 million and a league-high cash surplus factoring in the $30 million increase for the 2024 cap.

Teams had been operating under the estimation that they would see a salary cap increase of around $14 million.

Clubs have until the start of the new league year — March 13 at 4 p.m. — to get under the salary cap.

The cap has risen annually since 2011, except for 2021, as the league prioritized recovery from the pandemic, including loss of live attendance gate and concessions profits.

In 2011, the cap was $120.37 million. It crossed the $200 million barrier in 2022 at $208.2 million.

The NFL also released what clubs must pay players should the teams use the franchise tag or the transition tag, per position.

Franchise tag:

Quarterback: $38.3 million

Running back: $11.9 million

Wide receiver: $21.8 million

Tight end: $12.7 million

Offensive lineman: $21 million

Defensive end: $21.3 million

Defensive tackle: $22.1 million

Linebacker: $24 million

Cornerback: $19.8 million