Steely McBeam
Well-known member
- Mar 20, 2019
- 2,135
- 0
Getty Images
One of the NFL’s main selling points to players in the just-approved collective bargaining agreement was the significant bumps in minimum salaries — since more than half the league plays on them.
But those raises could also stifle the market for some teams.
Via Peter King of NBC’s Football Morning in America, the increases chew into the cap space available for each team to the tune of about $2.7 million a year.
That’s still a small percentage given a cap of $198.2 million, which is up $10 million from last year. But it does matter for the team’s near the bottom of the list in cap space, including the Saints, Falcons, and Steelers.
With each team carrying around 25 players per year on league-minimum salaries, the increase of $100,000 per year for that many players (plus a couple more practice squad players) makes a tangible difference.
Of course, most teams will be able to find the funds to pay the guys they want, but some will end up using it as an excuse to not participate in the process to the same degree.