The NFL announced that the salary cap has increased for 2024, climbing to $255.4 million per club. This means that teams now have more money to work with this offseason and this could easily change team's plans if they were on the fence about trying to keep a key player around.
The NFL announced today that the 2024 Salary Cap will be $255.4 million per club, with an additional $74 million per club payment for player benefits, which includes Performance Based Pay and benefits for retired players.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) February 23, 2024
With such big news regarding the cap situation, let's take a look at the NFL teams with the most cap space heading into the offseason, according to Over the Cap.
Teams with the most cap space in 2024
Team | Cap Space |
|---|---|
1. Washington Commanders | $87,049,626 |
2. New England Patriots | $82,927,006 |
3. Chicago Bears | $80,396,157 |
4. Tennessee Titans | $78,648,381 |
5. Cincinnati Bengals | $72,836,373 |
The biggest observation here is that none of these teams made the playoffs in the 2023 season. Only the Bengals had a winning record out of the five, finishing with a 9-8 record but a 1-5 record in their division.
The Bengals are in the best position out of these five teams because they have a proven winner in their franchise quarterback and are Super Bowl contenders. They can use their $72 million in cap space to tag and potentially extend Tee Higgins, extend Ja'Marr Chase, and bring in some heavy hitters to help them out in the trenches.
The Bears, Commanders, and Patriots hold the first three picks in the NFL Draft so not only can they find a franchise-changing player but they have the money to ensure that first-round pick gets some help around him.
The Titans can use their $78 million in cap space to build around Will Levis and help him succeed as Tennessee's hopeful quarterback of the future.
Just missing out on this list are the Colts with $72,337,573, the Texans with $67,583,290, and the Lions with $63,743,386. The Texans and Lions both won at least one playoff game the previous season and the Colts narrowly missed the playoffs. These teams should be able to do a lot of damage with the money they have at their disposal.