NFL 2021 salary cap set at $182.5 million, down nearly $16 million from 2020 season; Jaguars, Jets, Patriots, Colts have most cap space

NFL teams had to decide whether or not to franchise tag players by Tuesday's 4 p.m. ET deadline despite not knowing officially what the 2021 salary cap would be. The thinking was it would be set at $183 million, but the league Wednesday announced it would be $182.5 million per club. That $500K difference isn't a massive deal, but that the cap is nearly $16 million less than last season's number of $198.2 million is substantial. A lot of big-name, high-priced players are going to be released over the next few months.

The $182.5 million salary cap is the NFL's lowest since it was $177.2 million in 2018. Free agency opens next Wednesday and there could be a glut of players opting to sign one-year contracts so they can get much more lucrative long-term deals next offseason when the cap should climb by a large amount once the COVID pandemic is presumably over and the NFL has its new TV/streaming deals in place. Numerous teams could create more than $100 million in space next year.

Many teams are not limited to that $182.5 million cap number, however, as most rolled over unused cap space from 2020. Spotrac lists the Cleveland Browns as having the largest 2021 cap ceiling at $212 million, followed by the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants at $210 million each. The lowest number belongs to the Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Bucs at $182 million.

A team's cap ceiling and its salary-cap space are not the same. The Jacksonville Jaguars, per Spotrac, have the most cap space at $70.3 million, followed by the Patriots ($70.1 million) and Jets ($69.9 million). Overthecap.com has slightly different numbers but in the same order. Among realistic Super Bowl 56 contenders via odds from William Hill Sportsbook, the Colts have the most cap space at around $48 million. 

On the flip side, the Saints are more than $48 million over the cap, the Rams $32 million over and the Eagles $27.8 million over. New Orleans already has restructured seven contracts and released five players. Teams must be in compliance with the cap by next Wednesday at 4 p.m. ET, when the new league year begins and also when teams can officially sign free agents.

Teams can begin negotiating with pending free agents Monday. No cap numbers as of yet include agreed-upon trades being processed or players being franchise tagged. The Jaguars and Jets did use the franchise tag, while the Patriots didn't. 

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