Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase is among the NFL players expected to negotiate for a major contract this off-season. File Photo by Archie Carpenter/UPI | License Photo
MIAMI, Feb. 19 (UPI) — The NFL’s salary cap will increase by between $22.1 million and $26.1 million in 2025, reaching a total in the range of $277.5 million and $281.5 million, a league source told UPI on Wednesday. The league instituted a $255.4 million salary cap in 2024 and $224.8 million in 2023. The league’s salary cap was just $177.2 million in 2018, more than $100 million less than 2025’s total. Advertisement
The Patriots lead the NFL in salary cap space, with a projected total eclipsing $126.6 million, according to OverTheCap.com’s estimated $279.5 million league salary cap.
The Las Vegas Raiders ($99.7 million), Washington Commanders ($82.2 million), Arizona Cardinals ($76.4 million) and Los Angeles Chargers ($70.4 million) are among the other teams leading the league in salary cap space.
The New Orleans Saints, Cleveland Browns, Buffalo Bills, Seattle Seahawks, Atlanta Falcons, Miami Dolphins and Dallas Cowboys are among the teams expected to be over the cap initially. All teams must be under the cap before 4 p.m. EST March 12.
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The NFL, which sent a memo informing its teams of its projected salary cap, said the range is subject to change based on negotiations with the NFL Players Association.
March 4 marks the deadline for NFL teams to designated franchise or transition players. NFL teams can negotiate with agents of upcoming unrestricted free agents from March 10 to 12. NFL free agents can official sign starting March 12.