Business is booming for the NFL. And if you need any evidence of that, just look at how rapidly the salary cap has increased over the last decade. Ahead of the 2026 season, the salary cap will be $301.2 million, CBS Sports' Jonathan Jones reported Friday, as the league's financial explosion continues.
The NFL had previously informed its clubs that the 2026 salary cap will land anywhere between $301.2 million and $305.7 million next season. That is an increase of more than $20 million from one season to the next, and that hasn't been unusual in recent years. The cap has increased nearly $100 million since 2022, when it was set at $208.2 million.
Going back over a decade, the NFL salary cap has risen exponentially, with the only period of contraction coming during the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021, the cap dipped from $198.2 million to $182.5 million, but the numbers have ballooned in each subsequent season.
You can thank the NFL's lucrative TV rights deals with its broadcast partners for these huge upticks; this trend doesn't seem like it'll stop anytime soon. This increase should only help teams who are up against a cap crunch, and it will provide more ammo to teams who already are loading up the money cannon in anticipation of free agency.
Perhaps no one is happier about seeing the salary cap cross the $300 million mark than this year's crop of pending free agents, headlined by players like Trey Hendrickson, Daniel Jones and Jaelan Phillips, who are set to command massive paydays.
