NFL Salary Cap Climbs to $224.8 Million for 2023 Season

Teams will have an unprecedented amount to spend on their rosters this upcoming offseason.

The NFL informed teams Monday that the 2023 salary cap will be the highest mark in league history, according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero and Ian Rapoport. 

The league revealed that the cap will be set at $224.8 million per club, shattering the previous record of $208.2 million, set in 2022. Previous reports had indicated the cap was bound for a record high, but an increase of over $16 million still qualifies as a surprising jump. From 2013 to ’20, the salary cap had been growing at a pace of only $10.74 million a year.

Prior to this year’s record-setting amount, the league salary cap had dropped from $198.2 million in 2020 to $182.5 million in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The 2019 cap was $188.2 million.

The CBA is a revenue-sharing deal, and new media contracts, 17th game, etc., are all contributing to a rise that should continue.

The league anticipates it will will provide more info concerning total projected costs, including player benefits, in early March. https://t.co/kW7SxD2Cm0

— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) January 30, 2023

The NFL had a number of logistics to settle, including receiving revenue from new TV deals and deciding on payouts of player benefits that were deferred during the pandemic, before revealing the official cap number, according Rapoport and Pelissero. The latest report indicates the league plans to provide more information about about those topics in early March. 

However, with the projected cap number now available, teams can move forward with their offseason plans. The 2023 league year is scheduled to begin at 4 p.m. ET on March 15, with the free-agent negotiating period opening at noon ET on March 13.