Cash-strapped teams set to benefit from raised cap.
The 2014 NFL salary cap was officially set at $133m on Friday, up from $123m last season, with league sources suggesting it could go up further in years to come.
According to ESPN reporter Adam Schefter, the figure could break the $150m barrier by 2016, with the new figure already the highest cap in league history after it surpassed the limit set back in 2009.
It is understood that experts believe it will surpass $140m next year before making another significant rise the following year as franchises are given boosts in their ability to acquire top talent.
Cash-strapped teams such as the Dallas Cowboys and New Orleans Saints will welcome the news as a higher-than-expected salary cap with help with their plans for the new season and will in turn be less restrictive when considering how they assemble their roster.
Teams must be compliant by March 11, when the free-agency period begins, with some already having started to cut players in order to make cap savings.
NFL teams are also able to carry over unused salary cap from the previous league year, and the NFLPA said in a release on Friday that they believe the average carry-over for teams that elected to do so was $6.1m.
It is a busy period for the league’s franchises as they look to make the necessary moves ahead of free agency and the NFL Draft 2014, with coaches insisting that they don’t enjoy an ‘off-season’ as they begin immediate preparations for the new campaign.
The league’s salary cap is calculated by taking a percentage of all projected NFL revenues, subtracting projected benefits for the season and then dividing by 32 teams.
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