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What is the NFL salary cap? How it works, cap space by team
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- What is the NFL salary cap? How it works, cap space by team
The NFL offseason is in full swing with the scouting combine in Indianapolis wrapped up among the first key events. After the multi-day event showcasing hundreds of college prospects , the focus will shift to free agency in mid-March.
The new league year begins on Wednesday, March 12 at 4 p.m. ET. For the two days leading up to that date and time, teams may negotiate with pending free agents on contracts for the upcoming season.
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Leading up to and during those negotiations, you'll likely hear the terms "salary cap" and "cap space" used by analysts to describe whether or not teams are in the running for specific players.
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Here's a brief explainer on the salary cap and how much cap space teams have this offseason.
What is the NFL salary cap?
The salary cap is the agreement on how much teams can spend on player salaries. The NFL has a hard cap, meaning teams are not allowed to spend more than the cap on salaries.
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NFL teams are free to use their salary allotment as they see fit to field a full roster. The league built minimum salaries into the latest collective bargaining agreement, meaning teams are required to pay at least a certain amount to players regardless of position based on years of experience.
Here are the minimum salaries for 2025 by years of experience, per OverTheCap :
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Rookie (zero years): $840,000
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One year: $960,000
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Two years: $1.03 million
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Three years: $1.1 million
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Four to six years: $1.17 million
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Seven or more years: $1.255 million
There is a set salary cap for NFL teams every year but not every team reaches that limit on spending. For example, a team could end a season $10 million under the salary cap. In that case, the $10 million in unused cap space rolls over to the next season (often referred to as "carryover"), rewarding the team for not overspending.
Teams can't just slash spending one year to overspend the next, though. Teams are required to spend at least 89% of the cap per year and must spend at least 95% of the cap on average over a four-year period.
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What is a cap hit in the NFL?
A "cap hit" or "cap number" is the amount of money a player counts against the salary cap. A cap hit is a combination of the player's base salary and bonuses.
What is dead money in the NFL?
Dead money is the amount of money a player counts against the salary cap if they are no longer with the team they signed a contract with. The amount of dead money varies by contract but incentivizes teams not to release or trade players soon after signing large contracts.
Some players have contracts with larger dead money totals than cap hits in a year. For example, Atlanta Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins is set to have a $40 million cap hit in 2025, per OverTheCap. If the Falcons cut him before June 1, 2025, he would count for $65 million in dead money against their salary cap. If they trade him before June 1, the dead money hit goes down to $37.5 million, saving the team $2.5 million overall.
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Dead money amounts change from year to year. In the Cousins example, if the Falcons were to cut him next year before June 1, 2026, his dead money total would be $25 million.
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What are void years?
Void years are extra years added to a contract to spread out the total money owed to the player. Think of it like financing a car; you may not be able to afford the total cost all at once but you can spend a certain amount upfront and spread out the rest of the cost over multiple years.
Teams can tack void years onto player contracts to reduce how much they pay them in the short term. This is done with the idea that the salary cap will continue to increase yearly, so a dollar now is more valuable than a dollar in four years.
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Players won't be on the team's roster for these years but are still making money from the contract they signed. Depending on which type of bonus is included, that amount may not count against the salary cap that season.
What is a signing bonus?
A signing bonus is an amount promised to the player when he signs a contract and spreads out over the duration of the deal. A four-year contract with a $12 million signing bonus will include a $3 million cap hit every year for that bonus.
There are also option bonuses that kick in at a later date than the signing bonuses. This gives teams a window to potentially save money if they want to cut or trade a player before their option bonus hits.
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Are there salary cap penalties in the NFL?
Yes. Teams can be penalized either financially or via draft picks for violations. The NFL can fine teams up to $5 million for each violation, take away draft picks or cancel contracts.
It is unclear whether or not it was for a salary cap violation but the San Francisco 49ers forfeited their original fifth-round pick in the 2025 NFL draft for accounting errors from the 2022 NFL season.
NFL salary cap 2025
The official salary cap for the 2025 NFL season is $279.2 million. That's a record-high in NFL history and up from $255.4 million last season.
NFL teams ranked by salary cap space
Here's how much cap space each team has as of March 8, per OverTheCap :
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New England Patriots : $125.13 million
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Los Angeles Chargers : $90.69 million
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Washington Commanders : $79.72 million
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Arizona Cardinals : $77.99 million
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Pittsburgh Steelers : $63.69 million
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Minnesota Vikings : $62.85 million
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Seattle Seahawks : $62.53 million
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Jacksonville Jaguars : $60.97 million
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Tennessee Titans : $60.35 million
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Dallas Cowboys : $54.08 million
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Cincinnati Bengals : $51.73 million
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New York Jets : $51.36 million
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Detroit Lions : $51.16 million
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Las Vegas Raiders : $50.99 million
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Chicago Bears : $45.67 million
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Los Angeles Rams : $45.64 million
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New York Giants : $45.61 million
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Green Bay Packers : $42.78 million
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Denver Broncos : $40.54 million
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Indianapolis Colts : $40.36 million
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San Francisco 49ers : $34.36 million
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Carolina Panthers : $27.10 million
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Miami Dolphins : $25.14 million
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Philadelphia Eagles : $22.64 million
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Cleveland Browns : $12.55 million
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Baltimore Ravens : $10.54 million
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Houston Texans : $5.28 million
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Tampa Bay Buccaneers : $5.25 million
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Buffalo Bills : -$1.13 million
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Kansas City Chiefs : -$3.27 million
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Atlanta Falcons : -$5.28 million
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New Orleans Saints : -$8.54 million
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: What is the NFL salary cap? Every team's cap space 2025
