Various reports are circulating that indicate the NFL and NFLPA are expected to finalize the 2014 salary cap tomorrow. According to Jason La Canfora, the salary cap figure is projected to be $132.3 Mil. The final cap number should be announced by Monday according to reports.
NFL and NFLPA expect to finalize the new salary cap on Friday. Sources tell me it projects to $132.3M as it stands now
— Jason La Canfora (@JasonLaCanfora) February 28, 2014
This projection falls in line with John Clayton’s report from last week. If this is indeed true, this will be roughly an eight percent increase from last year’s salary cap. It’s looking like only two teams will be over the cap, the Steelers and the Cowboys. Let’s round up to $133 Mil for discussion’s sake. Accounting for the rule of 51 (only the top 51 contracts will count towards the salary cap), the dead money that’s on the books for 2014, and rollover from last year’s cap that went unspent, the team will be close to $5.7 Mil over the cap.
As I’ve said before, cutting Levi Brown costs the team nothing, and clears $6.25 Mil in cap space. Poof, just like that their cap nightmare is over. (That was mild sarcasm)
Now, before we get too carried away, the team will still need to make some moves to clear cap space for the draft pool, free agency, roster bonuses, injury signings, etc. The rookie pool should be just under $5.5 Mil, but count just under $3.5 Mil after displacement.
We’ll know the final number the team will be working with very soon, and the news of cuts, restructures, and extensions should follow slowly as we approach spring.