NFL salary cap, explained: Every team’s space available to sign free agents in 2023 offseason
As NFL teams wrap up their seasons, it’s not long before fans are looking ahead to the next season, analyzing pay charts and rolling up numbers to see how much money their respective teams can invest in improvements.
This offseason, it’s the world of bears and all the other teams just live in it. Chicago not only has the top overall pick in the NFL draft, but will have more than $94 million in cap space to add free agents, according to Over the Cap. As of February 17, with several teams still more than $50 million under the cap, the rest of the NFL currently has a combined total of just $110 million in cap, just $16 over the Bears.
The Bears should already have plenty of cap room before the NFL set the cap at $224.8 million, an increase from the $208.2 million cap set for the 2022 season. Now they have even more space to spend on free agents.
Here’s what you need to know about the 2023 salary cap.
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How is the NFL salary cap calculated?
The NFL develops the salary cap by dividing the percentage of earnings negotiated in the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) by 32. Players receive 48 percent of revenue with profit sharing. Each year the number tends to increase year on year as the league generates more revenue.
2023 NFL salary cap deadline
Teams have until March 7 to affix franchise tags to players, and teams have until March 15 at 4:00 p.m. ET to be below the 2023 salary cap. After 4pm ET, teams can officially begin signing contracts with unrestricted free agents.
Teams also have between noon March 13 and 4 p.m. ET March 15 to negotiate with upcoming unrestricted free agents, but official agreements cannot be made until after the cap has expired.
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NFL salary cap by team
Based on Over the Cap, here’s a look at how much money teams will need to spend in the cap space starting February 17:
| team | limit space |
|---|---|
| Chicago Bears | $94,434,449 |
| Atlanta Falcons | $56,575,855 |
| Las Vegas robbers | $48,389,838 |
| New York Giants | $46,733,739 |
| Houston Texans | $37,612,053 |
| Cincinnati Bengal | $35,673,058 |
| New England Patriots | $34,255,547 |
| Seattle Seahawks | $31,042,644 |
| Baltimore Ravens | $24,978,480 |
| Arizona Cardinals | $14,604,205 |
| Detroit Lions | $13,915,951 |
| Indianapolis Colts | $12,440,976 |
| Philly Eagles | $9,725,176 |
| Denver Broncos | $9,387,224 |
| Washington commanders | $8,352,246 |
| San Francisco 49ers | $8,063,016 |
| Pittsburgh Steelers | $162,747 |
| New York Jets | -$264,498 |
| Kansas City chiefs | -$3,507,734 |
| Green Bay packers | -$4,665,743 |
| Dallas Cowboys | -$7,008,743 |
| Carolina Panther | -$7,743,950 |
| Cleveland Browns | -$13,534,606 |
| Los Angeles Rams | -$14,122,570 |
| Miami Dolphins | -$16,377,201 |
| buffalo bills | -$16,770,436 |
| Chargers from Los Angeles | -$20,511,524 |
| Tennessee Titans | -$21,074,378 |
| Jacksonville Jaguars | -$22,753,686 |
| Minnesota Vikings | -$23,295,007 |
| Saints of New Orleans | -$55,012,319 |
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers | -$55,031,921 |
What does the free agency cap mean?
The larger the cap range, the more free agency spend teams can have. Teams can/must make room by eliminating players, restructuring contracts or swapping players.
Some teams are geared up for a big off-season of spending. The Bears have the potential to transform from last place in the NFC North into the surrounding Justin Fields with a wide array of talent and a chance to make a big jump in the standings. Two other teams that missed the playoffs, the Falcons and Raiders, also have plenty of room for improvement in 2023. The top three teams in cap space to make the playoffs are the Giants, Bengals, and Seahawks.
There are other teams like the Buccaneers and Saints who have a lot of work to do to get back under the cap and ensure they are able to make the improvements needed. Tampa Bay, Minnesota, and Jacksonville have the lowest cap rank among teams that made the 2023 postseason.