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The NFL has reached a historic milestone as the salary cap has surpassed the $300 million mark.
In a move that brought joy to free agents and their agents alike, the NFL revealed on Friday that the salary cap for each team in 2026 would be set at $301.2 million. This announcement signifies a 7.9% rise from the previous year, a substantial 65% jump since 2021 when league revenues dipped due to COVID-19, and nearly double the cap from ten years ago, which stood at $155.2 million in 2016.
Although the cap increase applies evenly across all teams, the financial hierarchy among teams with ample spending capacity remains unchanged.
Adjustments were made to the cap space of individual teams, with the Jets now holding the third-highest cap space at $88.7 million, while the Giants rank 20th with a cap space of $978,921, as reported by OvertheCap.com.
The tweaks were made to teams’ cap space, which now has the Jets (No. 3) with $88.7 million and the Giants (No. 20) with $978,921, according to OvertheCap.com.
The Giants’ cap space is expected to grow exponentially via salary-cap casualties and contract restructures before the March 9 start of free agency.
After the Patriots’ NFL-high $364 million free-agent spending spree last offseason helped fuel a turnaround from 4-13 to AFC champions under first-year head coach Mike Vrabel, other teams with new head coaches flush with cap space could be contenders to overspend for a quick fix.
Look no further than Robert Saleh’s Titans ($94.7 million) and Klint Kubiak’s Raiders ($89 million) — the only two teams with more flexibility than the Jets.
With the new salary cap set, the franchise tag cost for a running back — the Jets’ Breece Hall, for example — is $14.2 million.
The transition tag is $11.3 million.
Teams also will spend $77.6 million each in player benefits, according to the league.