The NFL has informed teams that the 2021 salary cap will not be less than $ 180 million, a slight increase from last year’s agreement between the league and the NFL Players Association.
The league told teams Thursday morning in a memorandum that $ 180 million is not the final figure for the 2021 ceiling, but just an adjustment to the “level” of the ceiling set last summer in negotiations between the NFL and NFLPA.
The final figure for the 2021 ceiling, the note says, “will be set after reviewing the final figure for 2020 revenue and other audit and accounting adjustments.” The new league year and the free agency are scheduled to begin on March 17.
Sources familiar with the negotiations told ESPN that the final number will probably be between 180 and 185 million dollars, although almost certainly at the lower end of that range.
“As you know, one aspect of the agreements negotiated last summer with the NFLPA to address operations during the pandemic is that the 2021 salary cap will be at least $ 175 million,” the note said. “Following discussions with the union that referred to both the actual income in 2020 and the expected presence for the 2021 season, we agreed to increase the minimum wage limit for the 2021 league year to 180 million dollars. We will promptly inform all clubs immediately after the salary limit. is set. “
Last summer, while negotiating the terms of the league during the COVID-19 pandemic, the NFL and NFLPA agreed on that initial salary cap of $ 175 million per team for 2021. It was to prevent revenue losses that send the ceiling even lower.
A source said Thursday that the revenue figures on which the cap is based annually would have led to a salary cap of about $ 160 million per team, which would have been a disastrously large drop from the $ 198.2 million cap. of dollars under which the teams operated in 2020.
With a limit now set at $ 180 million, the ceiling will be about $ 20 million higher than it would otherwise have been. About $ 20 million will have to be “borrowed” against future ceilings, and how this will happen is a matter of ongoing negotiations between the league and the union of its players.
To use a harsh example: If revenue projections provide a salary cap of $ 220 million in 2022 and a ceiling of $ 230 million in 2023, the parties could agree to reduce these figures by $ 10 million each of these two years for offset the $ 20 million discrepancy this year. .
The final figure for 2021 could take some time to complete as the NFL continues to negotiate new contracts with its television partners. The new TV contracts would obviously affect revenue projections and could extend the NFL’s regular season to 17 games as early as this year.
But a source close to the talks said the best case scenario for these negotiations is unlikely to raise the ceiling this year beyond about $ 185 million.
Teams are allowed to go over the ceiling chamber from previous years, so any additional room equipment that had a salary cap of $ 198.2 million in 2020 can be applied to the 2021 ceiling.
The total attendance this past season was 1.2 million, down from 17 million in 2019. Thirteen teams did not allow fans in the regular season; other clubs have limited crowd size to ensure social distancing in accordance with their state’s health and safety regulations.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.