The 2021 NFL Salary Cap has been officially set, creating an equal playing field for all teams to spend money during the upcoming free agency, and now we’ll assess 2021 NFL cap space for all 32 clubs. According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, teams will have $182.5 million to spend on players this season. Here’s a breakdown of how far under — or over — NFL teams are from the 2021 salary cap.
2021 NFL Salary Cap Space For Teams Heading Into Free Agency
(All cap space figures are provided via Spotrac. Money spent refers to cap space allocated to active players.)
- Jacksonville Jaguars: $70,194,209 ($135,271,391 spent)
- New England Patriots: $70,119,237 ($138,789,621 spent)
- New York Jets: $69,886,042 ($126,341,363 spent)
- Indianapolis Colts: $48,072,338 ($151,288,920 spent)
- Cincinnati Bengals: $44,113,390 ($148,661,702 spent)
- Washington Football Team: $$39,031,908 ($157,982,917 spent)
- Las Vegas Raiders: $33,714,923 ($154,771,383 spent)
- Miami Dolphins: $33,099,057 ($165,409,881 spent)
- Denver Broncos: $32,660,124 ($169,527,583 spent)
- Houston Texans: $31,486,882 ($149,536,246 spent)
Most of these teams with the largest sums of cash to spend this offseason are set up nicely to do so. The majority of these teams are building towards the future, so having this hoarded cap space will be beneficial for them once the league year opens, and free agents are able to sign new deals.
11. Los Angeles Chargers: $30,168,626 ($161,503,893 spent)
12. San Fransisco 49ers: $26,137,770 ($164,311,945 spent)
13. Cleveland Browns: $24,363,031 ($193,499,725 spent)
14. Baltimore Ravens: $24,133,375 ($150,415,293 spent)
15. Seattle Seahawks: $22,295,512 ($160,327,125 spent)
16. Carolina Panthers: $19,606,886 ($145,557,939 spent)
17. Arizona Cardinals: $15,028,065 ($176,334,690 spent)
18. Tennessee Titans: $14,339,660 ($162,404,196 spent)
These teams are all above the league average in terms of cap space available to allocate to pending free agents. Certainly not a bad position to be in, because some of these teams are on the outside looking in of becoming legitimate Super Bowl contenders. Perhaps one or two quality free agent acquisitions could be the difference.
19. Detroit Lions: $9,567,918 ($159,712,489 spent)
20. Pittsburgh Steelers: $6,116,703 ($174,407,890 spent)
21. Buffalo Bills: $2,096,347 ($185,387,068 spent)
22. Dallas Cowboys: $2,004,340 ($208,060,161 spent)
23. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: $-2,879,775 ($184,103,781 spent)
24. Minnesota Vikings: $-3,519,876 ($185,144,997 spent)
25. New York Giants: $-8,016,087 ($193,081,435 spent)
26. Green Bay Packers: $-8,346,117 ($195,696,994 spent)
27. Atlanta Falcons: $-14,431,461 ($185,496,258 spent)
28. Kansas City Chiefs: $-21,236,020 ($210,935,605 spent)
29. Chicago Bears: $-22,547,958 ($208,172,142 spent)
30. Philadelphia Eagles: $-25,433,418 ($202,710,727 spent)
31, New Orleans Saints: $-30,270,252 ($205,075,083 spent)
32. Los Angeles Rams: $-32,111,627 ($194,025,337 spent)
It’s going to take a little bit of magic if these teams want to bring in some big-name-free agents this offseason. Teams will have to release players with a hefty price tag, trade or restructure contracts. This is definitely not an ideal position to be in.
Free agency will begin Wednesday, March 17 at 4:00 p.m. ET, when players will be eligible to ink their new contracts.
Also, When the dust settles on 2021 NFL Free Agency, place a 2021 NFL futures bet with one of our partner sportsbooks. One of our featured Welcome Offers for new customers comes from PointsBet: Get 2 Second-Chance Bets up to $2,000 where it’s legal to bet on sports.
Catch the rest of our NFL offseason coverage for news, betting tips, and fantasy football.
