Sports are about competition, and it’d be awfully boring if the same team was able to win championships year after year simply because they have enough money to pay all the best players to join their roster. That’s why many sports implement a “salary cap” system, and the National Football League is no exception.
But salary caps, including the NFL’s, can be confusing. Let’s take a look at how these systems work and what it looks like in the NFL.
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What is the NFL Salary Cap?
So, what is a salary cap and why does the NFL have one?
What is a salary cap in sports?
A salary cap is essentially a set upper limit on the total amount of money a team can use to pay its players. Salary caps are designed to promote balance among the leagues’ teams, so that the teams with the most financial resources can’t simply dominate play by spending more than teams with less available cash.
Of the Big Five professional sports leagues in the United States — the NFL, Major League Baseball (MLB), National Basketball Association (NBA), National Hockey League (NHL) and Major League Soccer (MLS) — three of them (NFL, MLS, and NHL) use salary caps.
How Does the NFL Salary Cap Work?
The NFL first implemented its salary cap in 1994. This year, the NFL salary cap is set at $255.5 million per team. There are a few ways teams can get creative with manipulating this cap to fit their ideal roster formulation, such as by restructuring existing player contracts.
If a team doesn’t use all of its salary cap for a season, it’s allowed to roll over the unused balance to the next season. Teams still need to spend at least 89% of their cap over a four-year rolling period, so they can’t keep building up their cap over time.
Only player salaries, not those of a team’s coaching staff, count towards the cap. The salaries of players who have left the team but are still under contract also count toward the cap. Cap space tied up in this way is known as “dead money.”
There’s a lot more that goes into the salary cap and salary cap management in the NFL, but these are the basics when it comes to player compensation.
Which NFL Teams Have the Most Salary Cap Space Left in 2024?
Now that we understand the rules for player compensation that NFL teams are forced to operate under, let’s take a look at which teams are using as much of their own caps as possible this season.
Here’s the available salary cap space for each NFL team (as of August 21, 2024), from most remaining cap to least:
| Team | Cap Space | Cap Spent | Dead Money |
| San Francisco 49ers | $51.98M | $224.72M | $20.21M |
| New England Patriots | $50.91M | $175.12M | $39.31M |
| Detroit Lions | $42.87M | $185.07M | $29.56M |
| Washington Commanders | $37.27M | $197.84M | $29.01M |
| Las Vegas Raiders | $34.82M | $196.97M | $29.67M |
| Arizona Cardinals | $34.17M | $213.91M | $21.75M |
| Dallas Cowboys | $28.64M | $210.51M | $20.73M |
| Cleveland Browns | $27.84M | $246.48M | $15.86M |
| Indianapolis Colts | $26.03M | $225.68M | $8.36M |
| Jacksonville Jaguars | $25.74M | $217.92M | $24.85M |
| Philadelphia Eagles | $25.61M | $182.87M | $51.19M |
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers | $22.72M | $174.58M | $55.00M |
| Tennessee Titans | $22.71M | $197.39M | $39.94M |
| Green Bay Packers | $22.69M | $195.09M | $49.29M |
| Miami Dolphins | $21.97M | $198.78M | $35.47M |
| Chicago Bears | $21.48M | $224.83M | $13.35M |
| Los Angeles Chargers | $20.82M | $188.17M | $54.08M |
| Houston Texans | $20.78M | $214.26M | $23.69M |
| New York Jets | $20.19M | $187.64M | $52.65M |
| Cincinnati Bengals | $19.80M | $238.73M | $6.41M |
| Minnesota Vikings | $19.57M | $184.53M | $58.21M |
| Kansas City Chiefs | $17.42M | $228.97M | $6.08M |
| Pittsburgh Steelers | $16.22M | $216.44M | $24.38M |
| New York Giants | $13.24M | $223.84M | $22.72M |
| Los Angeles Rams | $12.04M | $216.97M | $28.01M |
| New Orleans Saints | $10.76M | $205.24M | $41.73M |
| Buffalo Bills | $10.59M | $184.30M | $61.26M |
| Seattle Seahawks | $8.36M | $215.34M | $37.18M |
| Denver Broncos | $7.84M | $181.76M | $67.88M |
| Atlanta Falcons | $6.99M | $246.29M | $6.17M |
| Carolina Panthers | $5.83M | $207.33M | $46.70M |
| Baltimore Ravens | $5.53M | $230.99M | $16.67M |
Source: Spotrac
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is the NFL's current salary cap limit?
The NFL's current salary cap is $255.5 million per team.
Which team has the most NFL salary cap space in 2024-25?
The San Francisco 49ers have the most cap space this season.
Which NFL team has the least cap space available this season?
The Baltimore Ravens have the smallest amount of cap space available.
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