More evidence emerges of $ 180 million salary cap

Getty Images

Chiefs owner Clark Hunt has said the final salary cap for 2021 might not be known until hours before the league’s start of the year. It is increasingly clear that it will be in the order of $ 180 million.

PFT reported last month that with a guaranteed floor of $ 175 million, the final figure was thought to be slightly higher. Earlier today, ESPN’s Adam Schefter supported this notion, by fixing it between 180 and 181 million dollars.

Few have yet to understand the consequences of what would be a reduction of $ 18.2 million per team from last year. Teams regularly plan their contracts on the assumption that the cap will continue to increase. A reduction to $ 180 million will force several teams to remove several veteran players in order to fall under the new cap.

Some teams can’t wait for this to happen, as they have the cap to target veterans who will suddenly become free agents. The teams in crisis of course would obviously prefer that the ceiling be higher.

So, before the NFL and the NFL Players Association can begin negotiating a new cap, teams must come up with a preferred number. Some teams will ultimately not be satisfied, if it falls that far. Many players who do not realize what is coming will not be happy either.

Superstars will always get their money. Recruits will always have their money. High-middle-class NFL veterans could end up screwing their heads off, as losses from the ongoing pandemic peak in 2021.

Whether they are cut off and forced to look elsewhere for something / whatever, whether they are forced to take less to stay put, or whether they are free agents who don’t realize that the money won’t flow like Usually 2021 will potentially be a tough year for the cut of players between the best of the best and the paid youngsters.