The NFL offseason has begun but teams have been left in a holding pattern as they wait for the 2021 salary cap to be set. With COVID-19 restricting fans from attending games last season, the 2021 salary cap is expected to lower for the first time in over a decade. But teams might have just gotten a little boost as the NFL and NFLPA have come together to set a higher floor for the 2021 salary cap.
According to a league memo sent to team executives and general managers and acquired by ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the NFL and NFLPA have agreed to a new salary cap floor of $180 million. That’s a jump of $5 million from the previous floor of $175 million set before the 2020 regular season.
While the salary cap still hasn’t been formally set, increasing the floor gives hope that the 2021 salary cap will be higher than many had originally expected. That goes for Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta, who had said he expected the salary cap to be between $175 million and $180 million at his end-of-season press conference in late January.
According to Over The Cap, Baltimore has $162.8 million tied up in active contracts and dead money currently. At the new floor of $180 million, the Ravens would have the 13th-most cap space at just $17.19 million, barring any additional cuts or restructures.
While the new salary-cap floor might not make things any clearer for teams like Baltimore, it does provide a little hope that things won’t be as bad as expected. For the Ravens, that means they might be able to take a bigger dip in the free-agent market as they look to make a push for a championship in 2021.
