The NFL didn’t go anywhere, but in another sense, it is back.
On Tuesday, Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay announced that the team’s home venue, Lucas Oil Stadium, will allow full capacity in 2021 on his social media account via Twitter:
100% CAPACITY FOR COLTS HOME GAMES THIS SEASON. Many thanks to Mayor Hogsett and Dr. Caine for their guidance through a very difficult time. #GoColts
— Jim Irsay (@JimIrsay) June 29, 2021
Following the Colts news, that means 32 of 32 dominos have fallen in the NFL. Every team in the league has approved full capacity stadiums next season after last year was a different story due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Because of the virus, teams allowed different amounts of fans into games. Some had limited capacity, while others did not allow a single person to enter.
As of May 25, 30 of the NFL’s 32 teams had already approved for full stadiums. The two outsiders were the Colts and Denver Broncos. However, shortly after that update, the Broncos approved for full capacity on June 2, leaving the Colts alone… until now.
With every team now allowing full capacity, that’s good news for fans, but also the salary cap. In 2020, the salary cap dipped to $182.5 million because of the loss of revenues a year ago.
The NFL and players’ union already agreed to a “cap ceiling” in 2022, which was set at $208.2M. That does not guarantee the salary cap will jump that high, but allowing venues to be packed across the league is a step in that direction.
