Bear Digest

Stunning salary cap report can impact Bears free agency plans

The salary cap is going up quite a bit more over last year than was expected, according to an ESPN report and while more cash can help the Bears, it can also affect pursuit of Trey Smith.

Gene Chamberlain

Trey Smith won't get the franchise or transition tag according to a report but the salary cap increasing could affect whether he even hits free agency.
Trey Smith won't get the franchise or transition tag according to a report but the salary cap increasing could affect whether he even hits free agency. / Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
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Just when the Trey Smith free agency train seemed like it could be charging straight for Halas Hall came a report by ESPN's Dan Graziano with a potential monkey wrench in it.

All NFL teams will have as much as $26 million more per team with the 2025 salary cap than last year.

It's possible this could help enable Kansas City to retain Smith on a contract extension, although it would probably take quite a few other contract maneuvers and perhaps even the retirement of tight end Travis Kelce to achieve this.

NFL teams will get between $277.5 million to $281.5 million for the cap. Last year it was only $255.4 million.

Salary cap projections in the offseason so far by Overthecap.com and Spotrac.com had included an elevated salary cap figure anyway, but not to this extent. As a result, the amounts teams will have available are adjusted on posted charts.

The Bears now have about $6.9 million more in effective cap space than on the earlier projections, at $60.8 million per Overthecap.com. Their base cap figure on OTC.com is $69.008 million. 

The Chiefs now stand at $4.39 million of effective cap space.

Before, they were actually over the cap. Those numbers alone wouldn't let them sign Smith to an extension but it remains to be seen how much they can get back by restructuring veterans' contracts. They could get about $17 million back if Kelce retires.

Whether they're able to come up with the cash by restructuring deals will be more apparent in the days just before March 10, when tampering can occur. A report by The Athletic Wednesday said they won't put a franchise or transition tag on Smith, but if they have the money for a contract extension this wouldn't come into play anyway.

The Bears, themselves, can recoup more cap space to pay for free agents. However, teams with more cash can avoid some cap cuts, the Trey Smith situation taken aside.

They could cut tight end Gerald Everett and gain about $4.5 million overall for this year's cap. They would save $5.5 million on his salary and roster bonus but would eat $1 million in dead cap from his prorated signing bonus. 

They also can save $4 million cutting offensive lineman Ryan Bates if they want, and there is no dead cap hit from his contract according to OTC.com.

What difference would $9.5 million more make? Add that with the $7 million they have over last year's cap to that and at $16.5 million it's one potential impact player in free agency. They could have signed Saquon Barkley with that much instead of D'Andre Swift last year.

It also enables them more cash to throw at Smith should the Chiefs not reach agreement with him, and they may need it because the Patriots and other potential suitors will also have more.

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Gene Chamberlain
GENE CHAMBERLAIN

BearDigest.com publisher Gene Chamberlain has covered the Chicago Bears full time as a beat writer since 1994 and prior to this on a part-time basis for 10 years. He covered the Bears as a beat writer for Suburban Chicago Newspapers, the Daily Southtown, Copley News Service and has been a contributor for the Daily Herald, the Associated Press, Bear Report, CBS Sports.com and The Sporting News. He also has worked a prep sports writer for Tribune Newspapers and Sun-Times newspapers.