[ad_1]
One of the challenges that the Chicago Bears and the rest of the NFL face in 2021 is the salary cap, which will decrease following financial losses from COVID-19.
The NFL and NFLPA have already negotiated a floor of $ 175 million for the salary cap. But the two sides have come to an agreement to raise the floor to $ 180 million, giving the teams a bit more leeway. While this isn’t the final amount – ESPN believes it could reach $ 185 million – that will likely be announced in March, it does give the teams an idea of what the salary cap will look like.
But what does this mean for the Chicago Bears in 2021?
If the salary cap floor holds, the Bears will exceed the cap by $ 2.5 million in 2021, according to Over The Cap. This means GM Ryan Pace is going to have to make some decisions about restructuring deals and downsizing players to free up cap space.
“We have to be aware,” Pace said of the salary cap situation in January. “Obviously, as you know every year, there are ways to create caps and these are all important decisions that we have to make.
“It kind of starts with that, evaluating our own list and discussing some of these things. It’s real.”
Potential losses at the ceiling include tight end Jimmy Graham ($ 7 million), right tackle Bobby Massie ($ 5.4 million), left tackle Charles Leno ($ 6.2 million), cornerback Buster Skrine ($ 2.7 million) and wide receiver Anthony Miller ($ 1.2 million)
Considering the Bears have around 30 free agents this offseason, Pace has his work cut out for him, especially as some of those free agents are expected to be priorities, including receivers Allen Robinson and Cordarrelle Patterson, as well as kicker Cairo Santos. .
[ad_2]
Source link