A look at the salary cap carryover for 2021: pic.twitter.com/Q5JELBem2u
— NFLPA (@NFLPA) February 19, 2021
Good news, everyone! The NFL Players Association shared the numbers for unspent salary cap space each team is rolling over into 2021 from 2020, and the New Orleans Saints will enjoy the benefits of all $4.1 million they submitted for rollover back in January. Their accounting was subject to audit by the NFL and the players union, as is the case for every team, and now they’ve been given the green light to add that buffer onto their books.
That $4.1 million is less than half the average of what most teams are adding in rollover, but every bit helps. The 2021 salary cap will be no less than $180 million, which runs against their $252.3 million in cap commitments to put New Orleans about $68.2 million in the red — for now. It’s hardly ideal, but it beats being $72.3 million over the spending limit, much less more than $100 million the Saints started off over the projected cap.
There’s still plenty of work to be done: restructures, contract extensions, possible pay cuts and salary cap casualties. But the Saints are on the right track towards cap compliance. If things continue to break their way, maybe they’ll create enough room to add new pieces.
