Le'Veon Bell's Release Means the New York Jets Lead the NFL in Salary Cap Space in 2021

New York Jets running back Le'Veon Bell's release has significant salary cap implications.

If there is one advantage to the New York Jets winless start to the year, it is that they are clearing out salary cap space for next year. The Jets are top of the NFL in something.

The Jets now lead the NFL in salary cap space for the 2021 offseason, the release of running back Le’Veon Bell now pushing the team past the Jacksonville Jaguars for most cap space heading into free agency. On Tuesday night, the Jets announced that they were releasing Bell, a move that likely had as much to do with getting rid of the disgruntled star as it was about ensuring cap space that can roll over to next year.

“With this move, the Jets stand to clear room in 2020 that can roll over into 2021 in the amount of whatever Bell signs for elsewhere. Bell has offset language on the $6 million in remaining base salary for 2020, so whatever he earns elsewhere will be deducted from that amount for the Jets,” said Brad Spielberger, a salary cap expert for OverTheCap.com and Pro Football Focus.

“Bell’s 2021 base salary of $8 million was guaranteed for injury, which could have potentially played a role here in cutting him before anything happened on the field. There will be $4 million in dead money from Bell’s signing bonus. In total, his 2021 cap hit will be roughly $11.5 million less than it would have been had Bell remained on the roster.”

Bell was released after making his discontent known about his role with the team via his social media channels. On Sunday, he ran the ball just 13 times (for 60 yards) with just a single reception (for seven yards), a low amount of touches despite some pretty good output. He then went on Twitter and ‘liked’ several tweets about his lack of inclusion in the offense including those stating that the Jets should trade their underutilized star.

Last offseason, Bell was the prime free agent signing of former Jets general manager Mike Maccagnan. He signed a four-year contract worth $52.5 million, with $27 million guaranteed at signing.

He struggled in his two seasons in New York, including the lowest yards per carry and rushing yards per game of his six playing seasons in the NFL.

“The Jets now project to have over $83 million in 2021 cap space if you include their current rollover from 2020, which would push them ahead of the Jaguars for most in the NFL,” Spielberger said.

“This release was all about the contract situation. The Jets knew they were going to release Bell after the season, and every other team in the NFL also knew that. No team was ever going to offer any substantial assets in a trade, if anything the Jets would have had to take on some of Bell’s salary and/or include a pick of their own just to offload Bell’s contract.

“They obviously have no interest in getting rid of any draft picks, and at the end of the day were comfortable counting on some savings from offset language as opposed to working to find a trade partner.”

In addition to his work at OverTheCap.com and PFF, Spielberger also wrote The Drafting Stage: Creating a Marketplace for NFL Draft Picks.