If you thought top NFL contracts were getting ridiculous, you haven’t seen anything yet. The league’s salary cap is expected to jump up almost $12 million from last year’s mark, per Rand Getlin of NFL Network.
I'm told the NFL's salary cap is expected to jump to at least $155M this year. Nearly $12M more than last year's ($143.28M).
— Rand Getlin (@RandGetlin) February 15, 2016
This is phenomenal news for teams like the Denver Broncos and Washington Redskins, which are trying to get quarterback situations resolved. It’s also outstanding news for the aforementioned quarterbacks, Kirk Cousins and presumably Brock Osweiler, whom the team has yet to negotiate with “out of respect” for Peyton Manning and his upcoming decision to stay on or retire.
Other high-profile players who should benefit from the expected increase include Mohammad Wilkerson (New York Jets), Josh Norman (Carolina Panthers) and Von Miller (Broncos).
Another thing to wonder about is the guys who have recently signed extensions before free agency, like Philadelphia Eagles tight end Zach Ertz and Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce. One has to imagine they could have seen more money than they signed on for if they had waited, but now we’ll never know.
The upcoming free agency period, which unofficially begins on March 7 with the recently revamped legal tampering period and officially begins on March 9, will certainly feature some jaw-dropping contracts. Teams like the Oakland Raiders, Jacksonville Jaguars and New York Giants have well over $50 million in cap space to work with and plenty of holes to fill on their rosters.
It’s going to be fun.