Chiefs Receive Huge Salary Cap Boost From NFL

The Chiefs got an extra boost on Wednesday when the NFL announced an increase of over $20 million than expected to the salary cap.

Feb 28, 2023; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Kansas City Chiefs general manager Brett Veach during the NFL combine at the Indiana Convention Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

One of the Chiefs' biggest issues heading into this offseason was their salary cap situation. In the beginning, Kansas City had $916,317 of cap to work with. Every offseason however, each team's salary cap increases by numerous factors, including the amount of revenue that the NFL generates that given season.

As such, all 32 teams were informed Wednesday that the salary cap will be about 277.5M-$281.5M, per ESPN's Dan Graziano. This is an increase of roughly $25M, much more than many team executives were expecting. This gives the Chiefs and many other teams beneficial wiggle-room to go out and balance out their rosters.

The NFL informed teams today that the 2025 salary cap will be roughly $277.5M-$281.5M, per @DanGrazianoESPN.

That's an increase of $22.1M-$26.1M from last year — and beats what most executives were anticipating. 📈📈 pic.twitter.com/gnqFiBvGlH

— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) February 19, 2025

This increase brings the Chiefs from their original $916,317 to roughly $7,941,128 according to Over The Cap. With their former cap space, the Chiefs were unlikely to retain the likes of guard Trey Smith and linebacker Nick Bolton. Now, all that can change.

This is not say the Chiefs won't still face fierce competion from rival teams, who already have been eyeing down the stars. However, now with over $7M to play with in free agent signings, it's much more realistic that a deal for one of the stars can be made, especially to stay in a winning organization.

It's clear that the Chiefs have to be aggressive over this free agency period, and in the upcoming NFL draft. Their most pressing issues remain on both of their fronts, offensive and defensive. With the extra capital, the Chiefs could definitely ink a deal for Smith, assuming no surrounding team gets to him first.

As for Bolton, there's no denying the help he would provide KC's defense. A return to the Chiefs could prove very beneficial for the organization, and possibly give the Chiefs another solid run at the Lombardi.

It all comes down to how general manager Brett Veach decides to spread out this extra "bonus." Whether it be to use it all on one superstar player, or spreading it out evenly between different positions. Regardless, the Chiefs have numerous holes that they must fill before the start of next season, so it'll definitely be interesting to see the strategy that the Chiefs take into the upcoming free agency cycle.

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